What's the story?
UFC Welterweight fighter, 'Platinum' Mike Perry was recently interviewed by BJPenn.com. During the interview, he talked about his fight with Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone, and the improvements he had made to his striking game, despite the fight not going his way.
He also talked about Jon Jones and a revelation he made to him about what the 'secret to MMA' was.
In case you didn't know...
Mike Perry entered the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 139: Denver, to face Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
While Cerrone had not been in the best of form going into the fight, the fight was destined to change everything. Fighting Perry in front of his hometown crowd with his family and grandmother in attendance, it was obvious to the audience how much the fight meant to him.
Perry was outclassed by Cowboy and had to tap out to a kneebar that seemingly came out of nowhere. He did not get a chance to mount an offence that would give him an inkling as to how to progress in the fight.
The heart of the matter
Perry revealed that Jon Jones had revealed to him that the secret to MMA was nothing other than the art of ground-and-pound.
“You need position on the ground. Jon Jones told me the secret to MMA is ground-and-pound."
The advice from Jones has resulted in Mike Perry trying to develop his ground offence, something he is lacking in.
The two of them had been in camp together, and when they sparred, Perry revealed that Jones knew exactly how to stop his ground-and-pound.
"I was trying to ground and pound and hit people, but he knew how to stop me from ground and pounding him in good positions. His jiu-jitsu was just smoother."
With the lesson from Jones, could Perry be onto the key to what might make him a devastating fighter in the Octagon?
What's next?
While Perry will work on developing his offence before taking on another fight to bounce back from the loss against 'Cowboy', Jon Jones is already set to face Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 in his first fight since the suspension.
Send us news tips at [email protected]