Kansas City — Following an impressive second-round submission in a war with T.J. Brown, “Senor Perfecto” Bill Algeo took to the mic and blazed his way through a pro-wrestling style promo, trashing host city Kansas City to immediate boos and jeers.
Of course that was exactly the reaction Algeo (17-7) was looking for when he cut that promo.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we’ve recently been bought out by the WWE, or we’ve recently purchased the WWE, I believe,” Algeo told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight, in way of explanation. “I’m trying to cross-train. Let’s see what’s up with, the next couple of years, if they need some wrestlers, skinny ones— I know a guy.”
UFC parent company Endeavor has, in fact, announced plans to acquire 51% of the WWE, forming a new company that will house both the pro wrestling powerhouse and the UFC, the world’s leading MMA promotion, under the stock ticker symbol TKO.
Asked if he was a wrestling fan, Algeo admitted he wasn’t. “Not at all.”
Maybe he will be soon. Algeo executed a textbook heel turn on Saturday with his promo, faking his retirement before exclaiming that he would “never retire in a dump like Kansas City.”
So what did Kansas City do to deserve such treatment? Beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl, for one. Algeo, after all, is a Pennsylvania native.
“They’ve got a milk out here called Eagle’s Tears, I was told about from our Uber drive. So I had to give some love back,” Algeo recalled. “There’s some type of creamery or something, he was telling us. I guess it’s like light green or something like that, they only made so many of them. But it’s called Eagle’s Tears. Apparently it’s delicious. So I had to throw some love back at Kansas City.”
Algeo, asked if he expected a post-fight bonus for his performance, was hoping that would be the case. “Promo of the night would be locked in if it was up to me, but we’ll see.”
Turns out, he did get it — Algeo and Brown took home Fight of the Night. And believe it or not, Algeo later said he doesn’t bother training in jiu-jitsu anymore.
“I don’t even train any jiu-jitsu whatsoever. Once you reach black belt, I think you’re good enough. So it’s all just been like wrestling, MMA stuff, striking, because that’s what’s important to me. But yeah, I haven’t done any jiu-jitsu in like, years.”
Watch the full UFC Kansas City post-fight press conference with Bill Algeo above.
