Perry may be known for his knockout power and aggression, but he is actually much better on the counter when he can use his pressure to set up the opponent. He possesses a suffocating style where he will back opponents to the cage with footwork, feints and right hands before baiting them to come forward so he can land his trademark overhand right. Something to watch in these exchanges is how Perry will often counter with combos to change the pace of the fight. This allows him to simultaneously lead and counter, which is very difficult to read and know what’s coming next.
Despite being at his best when working on the counter, at the end of the day, Perry loves a firefight and splits his time in the cage between leading and answering. However, his knockout power and ability to absorb strikes and keep pressing forward has been enough to overwhelm opponents in the past. Something he needs to work on to have success at the highest levels is incorporating kicks into his pressure counter-boxing style. He has shown some nice leg kicks, but he does not throw them enough and rarely throws to the body or head. His opponent Luque also rarely throws kicks so expect this one to be a wild boxing match on the feet.
When Perry wants a dogfight he will rush forward with punches until the opponent hits the cage, and then he will bite down on his mouthpiece and unload with furious combos looking for the finish. He integrates lots of knees and punches to the body during these moments, and it works wonders for him since the opponent is generally afraid of getting his head knocked off and chooses not to cover his body. I would like to see him use these body shots all the time, but it's nice to see that he can mix up his attacks in moments of madness. Although he likes to pressure and counter, he rarely does it when the opponent is against the cage despite this being the best position for pressure counters. In times like these, most of his opponents are covering up and throwing wild punches while hoping to connect and move off the cage. Perry needs to learn how to be more patient during these exchanges and look for counters while the opponent is flustered and coming forward sloppily. At times, Luque seems content with standing in the pocket and covering up looking for counters which might play perfectly into Perry’s aggressive style.
This style has allowed Perry to decimate lower-level opponents, but as his level of competition has improved, he has gotten more exposed with every fight. Donald Cerrone, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Max Griffin all took advantage of his aggressive style and used it against him. Ponzinibbio and Griffin used it to land counters of their own, while “Cowboy” capitalized off a Perry takedown by submitting him on the ground. Perry is still only 27, and his win over Cowboy Oliveira proved he can still take out some of the division’s best fighters. Although he may not be known to the casual fan, Luque is no joke and is one of the fastest rising prospects in the division. If Perry takes him lightly, he could be on the brink of a losing UFC record.
Perry is predominantly a striker and what makes this matchup so interesting is Luque’s well-roundedness. Luque will shoot for takedowns and spend an entire fight doing nothing but trying to get the opponent to the ground. Perry has shown some decent transitional grappling and ability to get back to his feet, but he has been exposed on the ground in the past, most notably by Cerrone. If Perry starts to get an early lead on the feet, watch for some takedowns from Luque and submissions once it hits the ground.