Perry denies assaulting ex-wife
Mike Perry said Wednesday he didn't physically assault his ex-wife during their relationship.
Danielle Nickerson recently said the UFC fighter assaulted her a "handful of times." She said the most recent incident took place in February, a month before Nickerson filed for divorce.
"There's just nothing really to back what she is saying," Perry told reporters ahead of his UFC 255 bout against Tim Means on Saturday, according to MMA Fighting. "I hope she can move forward and find some better life for herself."
Nickerson said Perry "ground-and-pounded" her in their Orlando home on the morning of Feb. 10 after the two went to a nightclub, causing bruising on her arm, leg, and ribs.
Nickerson says she fled to a neighbor's house, where Perry's mother, Sabra Young, picked her up and took her back to her home. Young called 911 when Perry showed up and started to rev his engine.
"My mom is a savage, man," Perry said. "I've never disrespected my mother - that night only, and that was by revving my engine. I drove across her grass, so she called the cops on me."
Perry said he went to his mother's home because he wanted to talk to Nickerson.
"I went over to talk to my mother to tell (Danielle) to come outside and speak to me," Perry said. "My mom said no, so I was like, 'What the heck?' Like, 'Can we have a conversation?' My mom got upset with me because I was mad that she wouldn't go tell that girl to come outside and have a conversation with me."
According to audio that MMA Junkie's Simon Samano obtained, Young said on the 911 call she feared for her life. But Perry believes she was exaggerating.
"She's always been overdramatic and acting up since her and my dad had me," Perry said. "My dad was a wild dude, so she always expected something from me."
"She's sorry now," he added. "She know it come out. She ain't never had nothing she said come out. Now she's thinking about it."
Perry said he appreciates the UFC for booking him in a welterweight bout against Means on Saturday.
"I'm grateful for my opportunities, especially with all the things that seem to come against me," Perry said. "I'm still here. I believe that I'm a good person, and I don't mean no harm on nobody unless we signed a death waiver."