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I saw this coming for several months – UFC president Dana White unsurprised by Mike Perry incident

Mike Perry was involved in an altercation earlier this week and UFC president Dana White says he predicted issues months ago.

By Ryan Benson
Mike Perry

London, July 11: UFC president Dana White claims he was not surprised to hear about Mike Perry being involved in an altercation at a restaurant, insisting he had seen controversy brewing for "several months".

A video began circulating on Wednesday showing Perry engaging in a row with staff at the establishment in Texas, with the incident escalating into a physical confrontation.

The clip showed an older man appearing to be knocked to the ground by Perry.

A UFC statement released the following day condemned Perry's behaviour, though it also outlined the 28-year-old "believes he has some issues related to alcohol abuse" and apparently committed to seeking professional help.

As a consequence, UFC vowed to not offer Perry any bouts until he completes a programme.

White was not shocked to hear of the incident, saying he was convinced the recent behaviour of 'Platinum' had given rise to concerns.

"I saw this coming in the last several months with Mike Perry," White told reporters after the UFC 251 weigh-ins on Friday. "All you have to do is watch his interviews. Watch the way he's interacted with [the media].

"He literally said in an interview leading up to his last fight, 'I hate all of you. I hate the media. I hate the fans. You guys want to say stuff to me on Twitter and walk up to my face and be nice to me. I'm telling you, don't walk up to me. If you see me in the streets, don't touch me, don't say hi to me.'

"He said that leading up to that last fight. He is a man of his word, apparently, and here we are today.

"He obviously needs some help. That's not normal behaviour. He's gotten a lot more angry and agitated. You see this happen with guys, and girls, when they start to get a little bit of fame, and start to get famous."

As well as the professional help, White also suggested Perry take a break from social media, because while some thrive on such platforms it can impact others in an entirely different way.

"I have a blast on social media," White added. "You see a lot of people that don't have fun on social media. There's been some horrible things that have happened to people in dealing with social media. Everybody deals with it differently.

"I love criticism. I love, whatever you want to call it, that goes on with social media between media, fans and all that stuff. I'm just built that way. He is definitely not built that way and he's definitely a guy that should stay off of social media.

"He needs to make some changes in his life, and we're going to do everything we can to help him."

Story first published: Saturday, July 11, 2020, 13:49 [IST]
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