Never let it be said that Mike Perry doesn’t have plans. The UFC welterweight has fast become one of the most talked about personalities on the promotion’s roster, even if it’s not always for the best reasons. Whether it’s downplaying racist remarks from his corner, dealing with his own troubled past, telling hilarious stories about Darren Till, or just being a somewhat one-dimensional KO machine, Perry has a way of grabbing attention.

It’s a skill the UFC has clearly taken note of, as the promotion has steadily pushed him into higher profile bouts. Since beating Danny Roberts in the Fight Pass prelim portion of UFC 204, Perry has only fought on main cards, even coming off lackluster losses. And now, with a recent win over Paul Felder under his belt, he’s got another big fight booked for November – this time against Donald Cerrone, when the UFC returns to Denver, CO.

It’s something of an awkward matchup for 26-year-old Flint, MI native, however. He and Cerrone have been recent training partners – and even spent some time outside the gym together – following Perry’s move to JacksonWink MMA this spring. Still, in a recent interview with Submission Radio, Perry sounded ready to put all that behind him and cut himself off a piece of ‘Cowboy’’s legacy with a KO finish.

“Shit, let’s get this money. Let’s go,” Perry said of his willingness to fight Cerrone. “The guy was kind to me, but the UFC does what they want. They want to set up a fight. And I figured, shit, a year or two from now somebody from JacksonWink is probably going to be trying to fight me. So, it is what it is. We fight. The question is, do you want to get this money or not? Yeah, I need this money, so we fight. I fought his ass for free, I might as well fight his ass for a hundred grand.”

“I fought his ass for free, I might as well fight his ass for a hundred grand.”

“I mean, I hope it’s as crazy if not crazier than the Felder fight,” he added, in giving his prediction for how this bout would go. “I hope I can get the finish though. I’m looking for the finish always. I’m gonna try to put my hands on his face and KO him. I’m not looking for a submission. If he gives up his neck I’m gonna try to reach for it and I’ll try and grab it, but I’m looking to hit him in the face and knock him unconscious in between one to three rounds. I don’t care when, just get the job done.”

As for what he’ll do with the money if he beats Cerrone? Perry says he wants to buy himself a boat.

“He took me shooting guns, we went out on his boat and he took me surfing on his boat. That was really cool. Really nice of the guy,” Perry remembered, talking about the time he and Cerrone spent together. “And he’s like, ‘Wow, look at this asshole who’s gonna come fight me now and try and take everything I work for.’ But he’s had all of this and all this money, all this time, and we in the fight business. So, I’m trying to get a damn boat too. So, you got that money, you got the notoriety. I gotta get it, I gotta come take it so I get me a boat, so I go surfing when I want.”

And with a win in November, it seems that ‘Platinum’ already has designs on a potential next fight. He wouldn’t mind getting a shot at Darren Till – another fighter he’s spent some recent time training with – but what it sounds like he really wants is a chance to fight soon-to-be-stripped interim welterweight champion Colby Covington. Covington has made a name for himself as an exceptionally tough out in the Octagon, behind tireless cardio and superb wrestling, but Perry seems to believe he’s found the answer to negate all that... maybe.

“You wanna lean on me? You can’t just lay on me in a fight. I’m gonna f-ing stab you in the eye with my thumb if I have to.”

“If we go off of anger issues and fuckin’ Colby Covington is just a little fucking bitch, then I’ll take that fight all day. But Till would be great out of respect and skill, and I respect what the kid has done. Shit, I respect – I mean, Colby’s got the fuckin’ interim belt, so I don’t respect him for that. But, he did something that I have not done yet, so I know he’s talented as far as fighting goes. His strength, his wrestling capabilities, his cardio, it’s all there. He trains his ass off. But I’d get in there with him and try to cut his face open.”

“Colby Covington, technically he hasn’t been stripped yet,” Perry added, speaking about Tyron Woodley’s championship reign. “He doesn’t get stripped until they fight for the title. So, I mean, the guy’s got really good cardio. Actually, Darren Till had that so say about Colby. Colby runs in the mountains every day. This motherfucker has good cardio and he puts the pressure on people. He just leans on people. I feel like it’s not a very dangerous fight as far as getting injured, getting hurt, getting busted up by Colby, but his ability to lean up on you and stop you from using your game is strong. It’s strong. That’s why his wrestling background is good. You know, fuck him though. I’ll fucking cut his ass up. You wanna lean on me? You can’t just lay on me in a fight. I’m gonna fucking stab you in the eye with my thumb if I have to.”

It’s a plan that would probably be more likely to get Perry DQ’d than anything. But, this is MMA where, more often than not, the rules seem to be only ‘guidelines.’ So, maybe he’s on to something.

Either way, UFC Denver takes place on November 10th at the Pepsi Center in Colorado. The event is expected to be headlined by a featherweight top contender’s bout between Frankie Edgar and the ‘Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung. Bouts between Joseph Benavidez & Ray Borg, and Raquel Pennington & Germaine de Randamie have also been penciled in for the event. Stay tuned to Bloody elbow for more news and notes.