Odds favor Mike Perry to win, but will he knock Luke Rockhold out?

One of the most monumental bare knuckle boxing events is going down this Saturday (April 29th) when BKFC 41: Perry vs. Rockhold kicks off from the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, CO. We’ve got two former UFC champions on this card, squaring off with fellow previous UFC veterans in the main and co-main events. Before we get there, though, let’s go check in on the betting odds.

Headlining the card will be the UFC’s former middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold, taking on the ever-entertaining Mike Perry. The oddsmakers are siding with the more experienced bare knuckle combatant in Perry, and do so by a great deal. Perry is on deck with a strongly favored line of -255, while Rockhold is listed as a sizable +215 underdog.

Okay, so Rockhold hasn’t won a fight in six-years, and he was spectacularly knocked out by the likes of Jan Błachowicz, Yoel Romero, and Michael Bisping. To Luke’s credit, he did stand up to the firepower of Paulo Costa in a spirited loss in what was his final UFC fight in 2022. Rockhold will also be the bigger man out there, with Perry moving up to 185-pounds for this. Mike Perry would be Luke’s worse defeat since his first pro MMA loss to Tony Rubalcava back in 2007. Rockhold might actually be worth a look at +215.

For the BKFC 41 co-main event, the UFC’s former lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez, will collide with former UFC featherweight title challenger, Chad Mendes. The bookies are comfortably siding with Mendes here to spoil the bare knuckle debut of ‘The Underground King.’ Chad is posted up with a strongly favored tick of -225, while Eddie is positioned with an underdog tag of +190.

Since his departure from the UFC, Alvarez saw a mixed bag of results over in ONE, putting up a promotional record of 1-2-1. Eddie has been fighting up at welterweight, and this upcoming bout with Mendes will be held at 165-pounds. Mendes departed from the UFC following a TKO loss to the now champ, Alexander Volkanovski, back in 2018. After some time away from competition, Chad made his BKFC debut at 155-pounds with a fourth-round finish in February of last year. Hard to see this one being anything other than an absolute banger, and it really feels like a 50/50 fight. That being said, the bigger man in Alvarez at +190 is awfully enticing.

BKFC 41: Luke Rockhold vs. Mike Perry betting odds:

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Eddie Mercado is a writer and content creator for Bloody Elbow, and has covered combat sports since 2015. Eddie covers everything from betting odds and live events, to fighter interviews and co-hosting the 6th Round post-fight show and the 6th Round Retro. He retired at 1-0 in professional MMA, competed in one Muay Thai match in Thailand, and is currently a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu under the great Diego Bispo.