Five things we noticed from Mike Perry bare knuckle fights that will cause Jake Paul problems
YouTuber turned-pro-boxer Jake Paul goes head to head with UFC and bare knuckle fighting star Mike Perry in the squared circle this weekend, when 'Platinum' meets 'The Problem Child'
Mike Perry will be dead set on causing problems for Jake Paul when the pair of fighters meet in the boxing ring this weekend.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, 27, was initially supposed to face legend of the game Mike Tyson at the ATandT Stadium in Arlington, Texas come July 20, but 'Iron Mike' - 30 years Paul's senior - was forced out of the bout with medical concerns back in May. Their bout is now set to go ahead on November 15 - but Paul was insistent on finding a replacement for this month's bout.
And the youngster may have bitten off more than he can chew by accepting the invitation to scrap when 'Platinum' Perry came calling. A former UFC scrapper with a record of 14-8 in the octagon, Perry has been in some absolute wars over the years with some of the biggest names in MMA history.
The 32-year-old achieved victory over the likes of Alex Oliveira, Paul Felder, Alex Reyes and Jake Ellenberger in the UFC, before making the move to bare knuckle boxing - a sport in which the Flint, Michigan native was arguably born for. Perry is 5-0 in the BKFC promotion to date, with flawless wins over Thiago Alves, Eddie Alvarez, Luke Rockhold, Michael 'Venom' Page and Julian Lane - and while Paul is no stranger to fighting MMA pros, he hasn't come up against anyone with the skillset or determination as a prime Perry.
Here, The Mirror breaks down five reasons why Mike Perry could spell trouble for Jake Paul when the pair meet in the ring this weekend.
*GRAPHIC PICTURE WARNING*
1) Perry can take a punch
Many fans of combat sports will know that Perry has 'that dog' in him, and doesn't quit when the pressure is on. The scrapper has only been finished once in his career, and that came through a vicious head kick from Geoff Neal at UFC 245. Perry managed to take Vicente Luque to a split decision back in 2019, despite having his nose completely displaced through a vicious knee in the third round - a shot that would have knocked many a man out cold.
And Perry has joked that he "might like" it when Paul hits him on Saturday evening. Ahead of the fight, he told DAZN: "I know he's gonna hit me good, and I might like it - and I'm gonna hit him back, and he ain't gonna like it." Paul famously knocked out former middleweight UFC champion Tyron Woodley when they met for the second time in the boxing ring in 2021, connecting with a looping right hand to send his now 42-year-old foe face down to the canvas. However, Perry has showed time and time again that he doesn't have a glass jaw, so Paul's natural KO power may not be able to save him this time around.
2) He has knockout power
While Paul has speed and power in his hands, Perry is equally - if not better - versed at finding his opponent's chin and finishing fights early. 11 of the MMA star's 14 wins have come by knockout - with a number of his BKFC fights also coming via stoppage.
The moniker 'Platinum' may come from Perry's strong and sturdy chin, but he has also proven time and time again that he has ridiculous weight with his fists. The superstar achieved a round-two victory over Rockhold at BKFC 41 after he cracked the former UFC champion's teeth, while his vicious right-hand sleeper of James Rodriguez at Florida Championship Fighting proved early on that he can finish a fight at any time.
Of course, Paul has come up against knockout artists like Anderson Silva in his pro boxing career thus far, but the Brazilian was 47 and well past his prime when the two met in the squared circle in 2022 - whereas Perry is still very much enjoying his glory years at present.
3) Perry is incredibly aggressive
Paul hasn't had to deal with very many suffocating fighters who work off the front foot in his boxing career to date - with Nate Diaz happy to showboat rather than get stuck in during their bout last year. However, Tommy Fury showed boxing fans exactly what is achievable by piling on the pressure during their fight in February 2023.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer was forced to clinch and claw under the relentless onslaught of Fury, who looked to smother the American throughout. And the approach exposed holes in Paul's capabilities, ultimately losing the fight 74–75, 76–73, 76–73 via split decision.
Perry is known for his pressure boxing and isn't afraid to throw wildly from range in a bid to close the distance and work from the inside. This could cause problems for Paul, who won't be able to win the fight through clinching when haymakers are coming his way.
4) He has no fear whatsoever
It takes a special sort of person to decide to take up combat sports as a profession in the first place, but bare knuckle boxing is a sport in the most violent fashion. Boxers wear either 8oz or 10oz gloves to provide protection to their hands, while MMA fighters traditionally wear 4oz gloves which still provide a little padding when both giving and taking blows.
However, there are simply no gloves whatsoever in BKFC, with fighters going skin-on-skin when trading hands in the ring. And for an athlete to deal with the prospect of being sliced open or knocked out cold by a single punch, they truly must have no fear - especially when you only have your bare hands to guard your head from looping and straight strikes.
Perry will head into Saturday's bout with the utmost confidence with a 'nothing to lose' mentality, probably never returning to traditional boxing afterwards. However, Paul will be anxious to guard the 9-1 record that he's worked tirelessly to build over the last four or so years.
Speaking to DAZN ahead of the action, Paul admitted that he's risking the biggest payday of his career to date against Tyson should he lose, which will only add to the pressure inside the ring at the weekend. He said: "A lot of people think I'm crazy for pivoting to this," adding: "He takes punches like they're nothing, and he's fast, he's athletic, he hits hard, he's a brawler - and I can't take that lightly."
5) He's a seasoned veteran of the game
Sure, Paul takes the advantage on paper when you look at how many boxing matches the two men have had overall - the YouTube sensation is 9-1 in the squared circle, while Perry's only appearance in the ring ended in a fourth-round knockout from Kenneth McNeil back in 2015.
But you cannot discredit the amount of time that 'Platinum' has spent brawling across all competitions in his career. The all-American has enjoyed 22 fights in the world of mixed martial arts against some of the world's toughest talent and has never looked like quitting.
He's 5-0 in BKFC with wins over a number of former UFC champions in hand-to-hand combat and also has a Triad Combat (another bare knuckle boxing promotion) win over Michael Seals from 2021. He's been in some of the bloodiest battles in BKFC and UFC history and knows where to look when the odds are stacked against him.
And while Paul has wins over Diaz, Silva, Woodley and Ben Askren to his name - all of whom were proven in the world of MMA - he fought them when they were past their sell-by date and was arguably never at much risk of being finished by them, their capabilities withered since their respective hey-days. Furthermore, none of the aforementioned men were ever known for their striking in particular, Askren and Woodley both being wrestlers while Silva and Diaz were renowned for their high-level jiu-jitsu. Perry is very much a different animal.
Jake Paul takes on Mike Perry at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, July 20.
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