Mike Perry blasts Thiago Alves for UFC Pittsburgh pullout: ‘We all came from Florida’

Mike Perry didn’t buy Thiago Alves’ explanation for pulling out of their fight at UFC Pittsburgh.

Mike Perry is calling Thiago Alves on his reasons to not fight him at UFC Pittsburgh, and he’s not pulling any punches. Alves ended up having to pull out of the fight just a few days before they were set to tangle last weekend, blaming the conditions from Hurricane Irma and making the choice to stay with his family. He said that the Hurricane forced his family to sleep in the gym and led to the death of his bulldog.

Perry, on a recent episode of ESPN’s Five Rounds podcast, took Alves to task for his decision, saying that he’s from Florida as well and he made the fight, and so did Alves’ teammates (transcribed by MMA Fighting):

“Listen, here’s an opportunity for him to make a hundred grand in one night. He beats me, he gets a hundred grand because if I beat him, I get the hundred grand. He gets more than a hundred grand, he gets more than me to show up. So right there, if he was comfortable enough to stay behind and not get that payday just for showing up, he could have taken that money, flown his family even further out of state so they never would have had to sleep overnight in the gym, his dog wouldn’t have died.

“I made the adjustments, I came from Florida, a bunch of my family and friends came from Florida, they all showed up. His team from down south, ATT [American Top Team], they all showed up. Hector Lombard was there. We all came from Florida. He was mentally defeated. This young kid was gonna whoop that ass.”

With that being said, despite a victory over short-notice opponent Alex Reyes and a performance bonus, he would take a fight with Alves again if it’s offered. Even though he thinks Alves will be on PEDs, apparently:

“If they call me, at the end of the day the UFC makes the final decision. They know that if they call me and say, ‘Here’s a name, what do you say?’ I don’t say no, I say yes. You’re gonna pay me regardless. I’m gonna show up and I’m gonna win regardless, don’t care who it is.

“So if they call and they offer the guy who backed out three days before again - who almost hurt the card because people were there to see me. There was a lot of hype for me to go and fight. People want to see me fight, period, because I come to fight. . . So if they call me and want Thiago again, I’ll accept the fight, I’ll sign the contract, I’ll prepare to destroy him but he’s going to mentally break again. He’s not gonna come fight me, and if he does, he’ll be on steroids when he shows up and I’ll still whoop his ass.”