When Mike Perry targeted Jon Jones, Jake Paul, Mike Tyson, and others for Bare Knuckle fight: "I want to fight the best"
Mike Perry has been eyeing fights against some of the most popular fighters in different combat sports, including Jake Paul. After parting ways with the UFC in 2021, Perry has made a successful career in bare-knuckle fighting, defeating good competition.
Following his win over Michael 'Venom' Page at BKFC 27 in August 2022, Perry called out Jake Paul for a fight. The win marked the biggest competitive achievement of the American's professional fighting career at that point. During an appearance on The MMA Hour a few days later, Perry explained the reason for his callout:
“Jake [Paul] is doing great. I am happy for him. I want to fight great guys, great fighters. Jake has done well, and he promotes really well, and I think we could do a great job promoting, talking s*** to each other. Or I could fight Usyk – nobody’s calling that guy out . ... Mike Tyson, [Oleksandr Usyk], Leon Edwards.”
He added:
“I haven’t seen Jon [Jones] in a while, so if Jon Jones wants to come beat me up in bare-knuckle, I’d be down. That’s my boy. I love fighting, man. I want to fight the best.”
Check out Mike Perry's comments below (44:35):
Since then, 'Platinum' has defeated former UFC champions Luke Rockhold and Eddie Alvarez to become one of the most popular fighters in the bare-knuckle fighting circuit. In his most recent fight, Perry did quick work of former UFC title challenger Thiago Alves, knocking him out in one minute to extend his undefeated BKFC record to 5-0.
Mike Perry to fight one of his preferred fighters, Jake Paul, this weekend
While it took a while to fight one of his preferred opponents, Mike Perry will finally clash against Jake Paul. 'The Problem Child' was expected to fight boxing legend Mike Tyson in July. However, the fight was postponed after Tyson's reported health scare that required urgent medical attention on a flight.
Paul agreed to fight Perry in the meantime. The duo will fight in a professional boxing match on July 20. The event will take place at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Perry is a +360 underdog heading into the fight while Paul is a -420 favorite.