UFC welterweight alum turned bare knuckle fighter, Mike Perry has revealed he is confident of securing a professional boxing return against the undefeated YouTuber, Jake Paul – as soon as February, insisting he is ready to fight as soon as this weekend.
Perry, a former welterweight contender under the banner of the UFC, ended his tenure with the Dana White-led organization back in April 2021 at UFC on ABC 2 against Daniel Rodriguez, suffering a unanimous decision loss. Perry made the Octagon walk on 15 separate occasions.
A native of Flint, Michigan, Perry has since turned his hand to bare knuckle fighting under the banner of the BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship) where he’s landed an impressive 2-0 record so far.
Debuting with a unanimous decision victory over The Ultimate Fighter veteran, Julian Lane back in February of last year, before headlining an event in London, England against renowned striker and former Bellator MMA welterweight title challenger, Michael Page, landing a majority decision win at BKFC 27.
Mike Perry believes fight with Jake Paul could happen as soon as next month
In the time since, Perry, who initially called for a fight with Paul off the back of his win over London Shootfighters staple, Page, has revealed he had received an offer to fight the Ohio native. And he remains certainly confident of landing the clash – as soon as February, in fact.
“I believe it was for mid-February,” Mike Perry said of a fight with Jake Paul during an interview with MMA Fighting. “I don’t know what I can and can’t say, [because] I want it to happen, but there was supposed to be a really cool location and that intrigued me.”
“I think it happens,” Mike Perry explained. “If it is mid-February, I’ll be ready. I’m ready this weekend. I’m going to keep working, road work, lift some weights, eat healthy, just keep feeding myself and stay hungry. That’s me. That’s what I do.”
Revealing he had previously sparred with the undefeated, Paul, Perry believes the duo could turn in an impressive boxing match in the future if the rumored clash comes to fruition.
“I sparred him (Jake Paul) once, and I think it would be a great boxing match,” Mike Perry said. “I can’t lie, I’m a bare knuckle boxer, and I like to punch without anything, but with the gloves on I feel like I hit harder, and I think it would be interesting to see what I could do.”