Danielle Nickerson, Mike Perry's ex-wife, alleges the active UFC fighter left her with numerous injuries after a domestic abuse incident in February.
Nickerson, perhaps better known to mixed martial arts fans as "Platinum Princess", spoke candidly with MMA Junkie about the alleged abuse she suffered while romantically involved with Perry. Nickerson told the publication of one alleged encounter that had her fearing for her life. The publication obtained 9-1-1 audio, a police recording and court records that support the claims. Nickerson also shared photos of her injuries with MMA Junkie; however, she requested the photos not be published out of fear of shaming.
“It was like a movie,” Nickerson expressed. “You’re like, this isn’t my life. What is happening right now? I (thought) if I don’t leave and run out of this house, I will die.”
"He ran straight at me like a football player, like to tackle me. Sprinted across the house. Where we were standing was on tile and I really didn't want to get tackled into tile so I ran to the carpet living room. I got there and I was trying to put distance between us. Put anything between us to give some space to try and talk to him. To try and calm him down. He was playing cat-and-mouse with me," she alleged. "Horrifying."
Nickerson, 28, alleges an enraged Perry, 29, "ground-and-pounded" her in the early hours of Feb. 10. She allegedly suffered a hematoma on her head and was covered with bruises. Perry's final blow supposedly cracked her ribs. She subsequently fled to a neighbor's house and was picked up by Perry's mother, Sabra Young. Nickerson was taken to Young's nearby home. Perry allegedly pursued Nickerson to his mother's house. In a 9-1-1 call obtained by MMA Junkie, Young described the alleged conflict.
“I’m out in the driveway, and he’s violent right now, and I’m scared for my life, and I don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s revving his engine right now. His wife is inside my house, and I’m afraid he’s going to hurt her.
“He said he’s not leaving without her. And I said, ‘She’s not getting in the car. I went and picked her up from the neighbor’s… and I brought her back to my house and then he just showed up. And I tried to talk to him. And I told him he needed to leave and that he needed to go home and sleep. And he said, ‘I’m not leaving. If she doesn’t come out here in five minutes, I’m going to go home and burn the house down.'”
Nickerson believes her "words are not going to have an impact on his career" but hopes the UFC takes more initiative to check on their fighters' mental health and brain conditions.
“This is not (something UFC president Dana White will see) and be like, ‘He’s cut.’ There’s no way. I don’t have that sort of impact. This is not for that,” Nickerson said. “This is for helping others. This is for getting the word out there about what you can do to help people in a domestic violence situation and the warning signs and how to not get this deep into something. Hopefully this will be something that pushes the UFC into doing more checks on their heads and brain damage and really taking care of them physically.”
Prior to MMA Junkie releasing the interview with Nickerson, Perry published his own statement denying the allegations.
— Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) October 20, 2020
Fightful has reached out to UFC for a statement. Perry is scheduled to compete next month at UFC 255, facing former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.
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