Jake Paul believes UFC CEO Dana White won’t let Alex Pereira face him in a boxing match.
On Saturday night at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., Paul defeated Mike Perry for the third and final time in a boxing match, winning by technical knockout in the sixth round. Paul immediately reached out to UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who contacted the “problem boy” over FaceTime to express his interest in fighting him.
Alex Pereira posted the full FaceTime call with Jake Paul after Paul’s win over Mike Perry last night 📱
Pereira is apparently eager to fight Paul, but Paul has asked if Dana White would release Pereira from his contract.
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit)
July 21, 2024
Pereira seems interested in the offer, but Paul doubts White will allow it. According to Paul, when he mentioned his UFC contract situation over FaceTime, Pereira hesitated and had to look at his manager. Paul is confident he can beat “Poitan” and thinks White wouldn’t risk one of his biggest stars losing to a YouTuber-turned-famous boxer.
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad Saturday at 10pm ET on ESPN+. Order your copy now! “I want them all. I love the sport,” Paul said at the press conference after his win over Perry. “He tweeted that he wanted to go into boxing. I got to talk to him on FaceTime in the ring. And I said, ‘Hey, can I get out of my contract? If I can get out of my contract, I’ll run.’ He paused and looked at his manager. Those guys are not my boss. I want all the smoke. But at the end of the day, would Dana let them get away? It’s too much of a risk to embarrass his No. 1 fighter right now. But I want all the smoke. I want all the MMA guys, and I always have. Who’s next? He’s the UFC champion now. So I want him. I’m going to chop his head off and take him off the throne.”
Paul’s latest win improves his record to 10-1, which includes wins over former UFC fighters Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren, Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz and now Perry. Stopping the BKFC star will not be an easy task, but Paul was hoping to do it in the opening round.
“It’s a bit different. [than expected]”… I truly believed I could knock him out in the first round,” Paul said, “but the guy’s tough. I took damage like I’ve never seen before. But I knew if I didn’t knock him out in the first round, it was going to happen later in the fight.”
