If you’re going to be a professional MMA fighter these days, you’ve got to stake out your territory on social media. The bizarre online world is where fighters interact with fans, attempt to arrange future fights, and sometimes just fall down strange rabbit holes.

But what can we learn about people by wasting our time scouring their social media for clues as to their true selves? That, friends, is a pointless and utterly unserious job for the The Blue Corner.

These are the Hashtag Files.

Mike Perry, UFC welterweight

Twitter handle: @PlatinumPerry

Instagram: @PlatinumMikePerry

Twitter followers: 62,600

Instagram followers: 282,000

Maybe the best way to understand the online world of Mike Perry is to imagine a pro wrestling character who’s not totally in on the fiction, one who lives his gimmick, both before and after he’s shoved through the curtain and introduced to the crowd as “Florida Man.”

You know how you see those headlines about people flipping out in the drive-thru or throwing Superman punches in the Walmart parking lot and you can immediately guess which state it comes from? That’s what it feels like to follow Perry on social media.

It’s been a long time comin @Cowboycerrone pic.twitter.com/MtoNI7V4fL — Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) August 31, 2018

But wait, before we go any further into the realm of the man who will face Alex Oliveira at UFC on ESPN+ 8 this Saturday, we have to make an important note. The truth is that you can’t discuss the social media life of “Platinum” Perry without also sparing at least a little bit of space in the conversation for that of Danielle Nickerson.

In the real world, according to Perry, they are linked by marriage. But in the online world, their accounts represent two slightly different but equally revealing vantage points of the same subject.

Their bond is clear right there in their Instagram handles. He’s “Platinum” Mike Perry; she’s the “Platinum Princess.” The view of their lives together that we get on social media is of a couple virtually joined at the hip. And yeah, as you might have already guessed, it takes a special kind of woman to spend that much time with this guy.

Lord if I die in my sleep from thousands of spiders crawling all over me and biting me I want you to know that that’s not cool or ok and I will be extremely upset with you when I get there 🕷 🕷 🕷 — Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) May 27, 2018

If you want a clue as to what Perry values in a life partner, there’s this video of Nickerson holding mitts for him in a bikini while he gets a workout in at the beach. There’s also this video of her lacing up the gloves and sparring with him, only to get swept and dropped repeatedly, while taking it all like a real trooper.

Then there are countless videos of her playing camerawoman as he screws around with no clear goal, because why not? And if you thought the two of them were going to visit Washington D.C. without using the Washington Monument in a penis-related sight gag, you haven’t been paying attention.

What we see when we view the relationship from her side, however, is a much more polished product. This is a person who knows a little something about filters and personal branding, plus all the things social media can be put to practical use for, like selling shirts on your Etsy store.

Of course, we also get a slightly different look at Perry when we gaze at the world from Nickerson’s perspective – at times very literally.

See, that right there? That is not the work of a social media novice. This isn’t someone just haphazardly hitting record and then immediately uploading to Instagram. This is a coherent montage. There’s a soundtrack. It tells a story, and that story includes Perry playing video games or messing with his phone while Nickerson whips up a series of delightful and nutritious meals for his benefit.

No wonder he reconciled with her after a brief split and then proposed marriage. Where else is a pro fighter with a face tattoo going to find a life partner like this?

One thing that makes Perry different from most fighters is that he’s roughly equally active on both Twitter and Instagram, but with different results. The Perry on Instagram is hard-charging and fun-loving. If you want to see him punch a variety of things and people, marvel at Google image searches on his own wife, or even just join in on the mockery of his recent losses, the Gram is your best bet.

On Twitter is where we see Perry interacting more directly with fight fans – especially the ones with something critical to say.

Still made more 💰 in this one night than you made in #LemmeGuess 3 years? Not a slip in my book. — Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) April 18, 2019

One thing you can say about Perry’s Twitter feed is that he doesn’t seem to be writing many second drafts. He’s on there just emptying out his thoughts, both before and after his fights, win or lose, and you never get the sense that he’s filtering himself out of a concern for public perception. He even has a sense of humor about himself … in his own special way.

The barber messed my eyebrows up a week before the fight. I told him I want DBZ, I meant Goku but he gave me mr.popo 🤦🏼‍♂️ ruined my confidence …. 😂😂🤷🏼‍♂️ — Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) November 15, 2018

Of course, Perry’s online presence also comes with some warnings that should be self-evident to anyone who’s followed his career up to this point. This is not the person you want to turn to for nuanced views on race relations, for example. Not only does he refuse to stop using the n-word, he’s also the same person who dressed up as a Native American stereotype for an ill-conceived and yet bizarrely well-produced promo video ahead of his fight with Donald Cerrone.

I support the legendary Native American warriors and I am tirelessly hunting this @cowboycerrone for his crimes of defamation ! I will catch him across state lines in Denver Colorado, November 10th for alll the people of the world to see the battle between #Cowboy vs #Platinum pic.twitter.com/xFdNY8abbL — Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) October 30, 2018

There’s a stream-of-consciousness element to the Perry of Twitter. Like some combination of the thoughts you have while awake at 3 a.m. and the thoughts you have while standing in the shower on ketamine. I can’t pretend it’s not entertaining at times.

Yo so Tesla guy lost millions for smoking weed. Doubt it hurt him too bad but damn. Always gets worse before it gets better. He probably gonna make a car that runs on weed now and make billions — Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) September 7, 2018

But when you balance out the version of himself that Perry presents to the world with the one that his new wife sees, you get something slightly different. That’s why her viewpoint is important to factor in here. It’s more manicured, yes, but also genuinely affectionate.

It’s when you see him through the eyes of the “Platinum Princess” that you see a man who is something besides just the punchline to his own unintended jokes. You see a person with the virtues of his faults.

Yes, he’s going to spout off with strange non sequiturs that he definitely did not think through for even a split second. He’s going to say and write deeply uncomfortable things, or act like a giant toddler in full public view.

What he’s not going to do is lie to you. Not about himself or anything else. Not even when you almost wish he would.

For more on UFC on ESPN+ 8, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly seriously, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.