Dana White tells Mike Perry he can't auction off cornerman position

The UFC President Dana White, at the Fight Island 6 media scrum, laid down the company policy about cornermen, dashing the hopes of Welterweight fighter Mike Perry.

For now, UFC still is in a deal with Reebok. That puts a lot of fighters in a somewhat bad spot financially. Organizations like the PFL, Bellator, ONE, Invicta all still allow what the UFC used to offer their fighters i.e, the ability to sell sponsorships.

So, Mike Perry had the idea to auction off a spot to be in his corner. A great gig for a wealthy fan or whoever was to win it. And the bids came in from pro athletes of other sports, rival Darren Till and fans.

Whoever gives me the most money can be in my corner with @latory_g ,...

— Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) October 4, 2020

As brilliant as a move as this is, Perry is not the first fighter to think of it. Another welterweight tried this back in 2007. Melvin Guillard wanted to auction his cornerman spot when he fought Joe Stevenson at UFC Fight Night 9.

While fighters rely heavily on trainers and coaches to be in their corners to guide them in the heat of a battle, Perry marches to the beat of his own drum. He's used his ex-flame ,"The Platinum Princess", and recently against Mickey Gall, his present girlfriend Latory Gonzalez in his corner.

Dana White takes a strong stand against Mike Perry's cornerman auction

Perhaps, Dana White feels the UFC bubble should remain solely for company employees, and as few as possible. Or maybe he realizes that to be a cornerman you need to be licensed by the commissions.

Either way, he isn't a fan of the idea and made it known to the media present at Fight Island.

To put it in the UFC President's words:

"'Platinum' will have to find a new way to pay off his taxes, because a round robin of cornermen or cornerwomen is NOT going to be the new normal for the UFC. You can't do that!".

The formerly ranked welterweight, Perry, faces another struggling 170 pounder in former champion "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler. Mike Perry, despite having dynamite in his hands, hasn't finished anyone since Alex Reyes in his 5th UFC fight back in 2017.

Since then he's dropped five losses, while managing to win three. And in that stretch, 6 fights have gone to a decision.

But he has had lots of memorable moments during that time.

Despite Mike Perry's troubles, Lawler is in a precarious situation himself. The 38-year-old has lost four in a row and five of six.