Mike Perry purchases new 4Runner for girlfriend Latory Gonzalez

By Natasha Hooper - July 8, 2020

Mike Perry has decided the best way to spend his UFC earnings is by purchasing a new 4Runner for his girlfriend, Latory Gonzalez.

Mike Perry girlfriend, Jon Jones

On June 27, the welterweight faced off against Mickey Gall. Instead of a traditional corner team, Perry only had his girlfriend in his corner between rounds. The 28-year old explained the decision behind his drastic change of tactics pre-fight. 

“My girlfriend, just her,” Perry said. “If not, her and her friend. I’m not listening to any coaches right now. Coaches who are saying things that they ain’t gonna go in there and do. They want it to be this way or this way, and like it’s a totally different way.

“I need a guy like me to hold mitts; I want to hold mitts for myself to be honest with you.I can show people a couple of techniques or whatever, and I’m just ready to fight for my life… Ain’t nobody gonna take this from me.”

Perry suffered two consecutive losses against Geoff Neal and Vicente Luque prior to his bout with Gall. He believes that advice from his corner became a distraction.

“All I need the corner for is to pass me the bottle of water, wipe my head off or put the ice on my neck when I get hot coming in between the rounds,” he said. It’s probably not gonna go more than five minutes, and if it does, all I need is a bottle of water. I need to sip a drink, put some ice on my neck, and I don’t need no advice.”

The change of tactic to hiring his girlfriend certainly raised eyebrows, but the decision paid off as Perry was able to seal the unanimous decision win. Following his return to victory, he rated her cornering skills.

“My girl did such a great job bringing in the stool and the bucket with the water,” Perry said to MMA Fighting. “I was thinking, sometimes coaches be so ready to get in there and tell you something like they think they’re gonna make a difference for you and it’s for themselves. They want to feel like they told you something that helped you win this UFC fight. And they’re just getting money and attention and trying to take credit for what your work has done. Like, bro, carry that bucket and bring me that stool. (Gonzalez) looked better than any coach all-time bringing that stool and that bucket. She was so pretty with that little ninja face mask, killing it all night long.

Perry decided to reward his girlfriend for her corner work by purchasing her a bright red Toyota 4Runner. Despite admitting that he struggles to pay his taxes, and even owes the IRS money, Perry decided to splash the cash on his love interest. On Twitter, a fan retweeted an image of the new wheels which you can see below.

What do you think of Mike Perry’s bold move to replace his corner with his girlfriend Latory Gonzalez and reward her with brand new wheels?