Mike Perry is stepping into the promotional game.
On the eve of his boxing match against Jake Paul, the UFC veteran and BKFC star held a press conference in Tampa to announce the creation of Dirty Boxing Championship, the combat sports organization Perry is founding alongside his team at First Round Management, former Karate Combat executive Adam Kovacs, and Josh McLean of Kanpai Media.
According to Perry, Dirty Boxing Championship will feature hybrid rules bouts that mix the striking arts of boxing with five-ounce gloves and limited ground-and-pound.
“This promotion has been in the works for over a year, and we started this because of my success in bare-knuckle,” Perry said. “I feel there that are many great fighters and athletes out there that would like to compete in something like this but don’t exactly want to compete in bare-knuckle and take the gloves off. There are a couple names that come to mind.”
Dirty Boxing Championship bouts will be held in a smaller 18-foot ring and feature three three-minute rounds, with five rounds for championship fights. All hand strikes will be allowed, including elbows. Fighters who score a knockdown will be permitted to use follow-up ground-and-pound punches but must remain on both feet while doing so. Weigh classes are expected to mirror MMA’s traditional divisions.
The launch of Dirty Boxing Championship’s first event is expected to take place around September or October. The promotion currently does not have a broadcast deal.
“I think this rule set is going to be the most exciting thing for the casual fan base that’s been put together,” McLean said.
Already the face of bare-knuckle boxing, Perry expressed a willingness to compete in his new organization as long as his matchups makes sense from a promotional lens.
Watch the full launch of Perry’s newest endeavor below.