Preview: UFC 255 Main Card

Welterweights

Mike Perry (14-6) vs. Tim Means (30-12-1)

ODDS: Perry (-150), Means (+130)

Life is not going well for Perry. First, there are the happenings inside the cage. When Perry first came into the UFC in 2016, he had a pared-down style that took advantage of his strengths. A pressuring boxer, Perry could leverage his hand speed, power and durability in a way that led him to win either via brutal knockout or entertaining war. However, as time went on and Perry moved up the ladder, the scouting report eventually became clear that he was helpless against opponents who could stay at range, pick him apart and force him to chase. With Perry only able to beat opponents who could meet him head-on, the UFC certainly obliged, booking him in a series of wars that seems to have finally sapped his durability. While Perry survived 15 minutes of hell against Vicente Luque in August 2019, he lasted just 90 seconds before being put away by a barrage from Geoff Neal in December. Perry walked away with a win over Mickey Gall in June, but it was not particularly inspiring; Gall seemed to be a better fighter on the feet who simply could not compete with Perry’s physical strength. None of this mentions what is going on outside the cage. Perry has always toed a line between charismatic and problematic, but the situation seems to have gone to another level in recent months. A video of Perry assaulting a bar patron became public in July, which caused the UFC to put him in anger management, and the promotion has yet to comment on credible allegations of domestic violence that Perry’s ex-wife brought forward in October. That all sets the backdrop for Perry’s fight against Means, which should be the type of straight-ahead war in which both men have traditionally thrived. Means reliably held his own as a fringe contender for a few years after his 2014 return to the Octagon, but there have been some recent worries that “The Dirty Bird” is slowing down after a brutal career. Losses to Belal Muhammad and Sergio Moraes came in uncharacteristically flat performances, and while Means has rediscovered his violent streak in the years since, he has been finished by Niko Price and stunned by Daniel Rodriguez in two of his last four bouts. Means thankfully looked more like his old self against Laureano Staropoli in August, but the worry is now that he cannot hold up against the harder hitters at welterweight—a category that certainly includes “Platinum Mike.” Perry’s loss to Neal was concerning enough in its own right that this is probably a matter of which fighter hits the first shot. While Perry is much more rudimentary in his approach, he is also the harder hitter. The pick is Perry via first-round knockout.

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