Perry Filkins (born April 3, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division.

Background

Filkins is originally from Millington, Michigan and came from a dysfunctional home. His father was a truck driver, so as a result the young Filkins would often have to fend for himself from a young age. Athletic, Filkins played various sports at Millington High School, being the quarterback for the football team while also competing in wrestling. Filkins also enjoyed

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

and won a national title in the sport in 2007. After graduating, a former wrestling coach opened an MMA gym and invited Filkins to train. After only four months of training, Filkins made his debut in mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Filkins compiled an amateur record of 5-1 before making his professional debut in 2010 and won via

TKO TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

. After another fight with the same result, Filkins was handed his first professional loss via unanimous decision. Filkins soon bounced back, however, winning his next four fights via

with one of the wins being over

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

veteran, Louis Taylor. With a record of 6-1, Filkins was invited to compete in the

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Global. ...

Bellator MMA

Filkins made his debut for

on November 16, 2012 at Bellator 81 against German striker Jonas Billstein and won via unanimous decision. Filkins was expected to face

Dan Cramer Daniel John Cramer (born October 31, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 2009 until 2014, Cramer made his professional debut with the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) and was a competitor on SpikeTV's '' T ...

at Bellator 98 on September 7, 2013 in the quarterfinal of Bellator's Season Nine Middleweight Tournament. However, Cramer withdrew from the bout and Filkins instead faced Jeremy Kimball. Filkins won in the third and final round via rear-naked choke submission. Filkins was expected to face Brennan Ward in the semifinal at Bellator 102 on October 4, 2013. However, Filkins pulled out of the bout due to a torn PCL. Filkins was removed from the tournament and Ward instead faced Joe Pacheco in the semifinal. Filkins next faced

on September 5, 2014 at Bellator 123. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 123 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Jeremy Kimball , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 98 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:18 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Jonas Billstein , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 81 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kingston, Rhode Island, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Louis Taylor , TKO (punches) , CZ 40: Kicking It XL at The Rock , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:02 , Salem, New Hampshire, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Robert Burton , TKO (punches) , CZ 39: MMA Smackdown at The Rock , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:15 , Salem, New Hampshire, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Chris Haggerty , TKO (punches) , GFL 12: Smith vs. Stone , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:09 , Dover, New Hampshire, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Wilfred Santiago Jr. , TKO (knees and punches) , CZ 37: Kicking It at The Rock , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:53 , Salem, New Hampshire, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Cornelius Murray , Decision (unanimous) , CZ 36: Smashing on The Rock , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Salem, New Hampshire, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Chris Cape , TKO (punches) , Triumph Fighter 4: Hostile , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

Milford, New Hampshire Milford is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States, on the Souhegan River. The population was 16,131 at the 2020 census, up from 15,115 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauU.S. Census website 2010 Census figures. Re ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Nate Woodger , TKO (punches) , Triumph Fighter 3: Havoc , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:12 ,

, United States ,

References