USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

A Mike Perry UFC return? Never say never.

The man known as "Platinum" has become a bigger name than ever since pivoting to bare-knuckle boxing following his UFC departure in 2021, racking up a flawless 6-0 record under the BKFC banner. However, the 34-year-old still holds a special place in his heart for MMA. Speaking Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Perry said he's eyeing the idea of fighting again in the UFC and even spoke to UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard about the possibility at his recent Dirty Boxing 4 card — on one condition.

"I want on the White House card," Perry told Uncrowned, referring to UFC's expected June 2026 event at the U.S. capitol. "You come to America and I feel like I'm a very exciting fighter that would love to fight at the White House with the country flag, representing."

Perry's renewed interest in MMA comes as a bit of a surprise given his success in BKFC. Once a fan-favorite UFC welterweight prospect, Perry put together a 7-8 record over his five-year run with the promotion, closing out the stint by losing four his last five UFC appearances. Some of his notable victories include Paul Felder, Jake Ellenberger, Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira and Lim Hyun-gyu.

In his latest BKFC bout, Perry scored a fifth-round stoppage of his fellow UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens, from whom he's drawn some inspiration. Stephens' own post-UFC success ultimately led Stephens back to having a single fight in the UFC earlier this year, after which he returned to BKFC and fought Perry.

"I'm a tough fighter. I'm very interested in it," Perry said of a UFC return. "Because it's always something I thought about as far as back in the day, when I knew that I wanted to go toward the UFC from watching PRIDE and UFC guys go back-and-forth, [Quinton] 'Rampage' [Jackson] and Wanderlei [Silva]. I think about all these old-school fights in my head, about what made me get into fighting.

"I bounced out [of the UFC]. I beat Jeremy. He got to go back. I don't know what these pay cuts might be looking like, but the White House just sounded fun. I heard some numbers [Conor McGregor] was talking about and I'm not asking for that, so I'd be a fun draw on the card representing USA."

If it happens, the negotiations may become the most interesting part for Perry, who hasn't been shy about how well off he's done financially with BKFC. He referenced McGregor's $ 100 million request to compete on the White House card, laughing it off to say he'd compete for "less than half" of that.

It's difficult to determine how likely a Perry UFC reunion really could be, so for now he's turning his attention to the possibility of facing another UFC veteran. Ideally, Perry hopes to entice Nate Diaz into a matchup, whether in bare-knuckle boxing or his own Dirty Boxing promotion.

"I would like to offer Nate Diaz to fight me in DBX," Perry said. "That's a good spot for that fight, but if he would prefer it be boxing, I mean, he did a boxing match against Jorge Masvidal."

Regardless of the sport he decides to participate in next, Perry has options and the freedom to explore them. Aside from an ill-fated 2024 boxing match with Jake Paul, he's primarily stuck to the bare-knuckle world, which is where he believes he's most likely to return next.

"Most likely, best option, BKFC is going to come to the table with the best offer, to be honest," Perry said. "I just prepare for that and [my return fight] may be early next year."

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