Jake Paul shoved Mike Perry during a face-off at their weigh-in Friday, then went on a rant against UFC president Dana White and mixed martial arts fighters, saying “they’ve been trying to assassinate me” and that they “don’t want me in this sport.”
Paul’s outburst started with a shove of Perry.
“He flew like six feet,’’ Paul said during an interview with Ariel Helwani on stage at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. “But look, Dana White said that he’s going to give (Perry) a UFC contract if he could knock me out. Well, guess what, Dana? You can rip up the (expletive) contract because I’m going to (expletive) up Mike Perry. Anyone you send at me, any one of your MMA fighters is getting (expletive) up.
“They’ve been trying to assassinate me. They don’t want me in this sport. They hate that I run this sport, but when you try to assassinate a guy like me, it only makes me bigger. I’m on a mission from God, a mission from God, a servant of God to save this sport. And that’s exactly what I will keep doing. Keep on winning, keep on fighting.’’
Paul has fought four MMA fighters — Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva and Ben Askren — and defeated them all.
Perry, who also competed in the UFC before joining the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in 2021, shoved Paul back during the weigh-in. Several security guards then pulled Perry away from Paul.
“They working hard to protect him, bro,’’ Perry said, referring to Paul. “But tomorrow night in the ring, when it’s just me and him, no protection. He going down.
“You’ve seen how hard those big guys had to work to get me back. I was pushing through the (men). Moving all of they (expletive). That’s like a thousand pounds of pressure. That’s called ‘Platinum Pressure.’ I’m putting it on him tomorrow night.’’
Perry’s trainer James “JT” Taylor told USA TODAY Sports he didn’t know anything about a potential contract offer coming from White should Perry win. Spokespeople for the UFC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter left via voicemail and text.
Jake Paul weigh-in
“Platinum” Mike Perry, also nicknamed the “King of Violence,” weighed in at 196.6 pounds. He got knocked out in 2015 in his only pro boxing match but is 5-0 in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Paul, who as a pro boxer is 9-1 with six knockouts, weighed in at 200 pounds – the maximum allowed for the cruiserweight fight.
Words were exchanged before the shoves.
“Why are you nervous?’’ Paul said. “I can see it in your eyes.”
Replied Perry, “I’m excited.’’
Perry indicated he wasn’t worried about the weigh-in showdown.
“You can have all this,’’ Perry said. “I want the ring tomorrow. That’s all I want.’’
Replied Paul, “You’re going to eat the ring tomorrow. Face first.’’
News
SHE’S STILL FIGHTING: Leah Stewart, 35, remains hospitalized for days following the horrific shark attack in Coogee that shocked Australia. The latest announcement from doctors in the ICU is leaving everyone stunned
Sydney mother mauled by shark at Coogee Beach has undergone ‘multiple surgeries’, family says Leah Stewart’s family say her injuries are “severe and life-threatening”. (Supplied: Stewart family ) The family of Sydney mother Leah Stewart, who was mauled by a shark…
🚨 SHE IS EXTREMELY LUCKY TO SURVIVE: Family reveals Leah Stewart lost a lot of blood after the attack and is currently undergoing a long recovery process. Updates about her first shark bite are touching, especially the first 3 WORDS when she opens her eyes
The sheer mathematics of survival following a major apex predator encounter often comes down to a matter of minutes and milliliters. For thirty-five-year-old Coogee schoolteacher and mother Leah Stewart, surviving a catastrophic strike by a suspected four-meter great white shark…
💔 SHE’S STILL FIGHTING Leah Stewart, 35, survived a horrific shark attack just 30 meters from shore, but friends say the road ahead may be longer than the rescue… especially after doctors revealed the severity of her injuries
The terrifying narrative of physical survival often ends at the water’s edge, concluded by the swift arrival of flashing emergency lights and the frantic applause of relieved onlookers. When twenty-four-year-old volunteer surf lifesaver Charlie Verco paddled his rescue board directly…
A hero paddled straight toward a 4-meter shark to save Leah Stewart’s life 💔 But while she remains hospitalized, attention has shifted to a decision made long before she went into the water. Critics argue that a single piece of technology could have changed everything, while officials insist they could have done nothing else
A hero paddled straight toward a 4-meter shark to save Leah Stewart’s life 💔 But while she remains hospitalized, attention has shifted to a decision made long before she went into the water. Critics argue that a single piece of…
Major breakthrough after 56 days 🚨 Taylor Charlton disappeared on May 8th and a 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. But detectives are still focusing on the last surveillance camera footage and the black car before she vanished
The quiet market town of Barnstaple in North Devon has been upended by a dark and fast-moving shift in the investigation into missing teenager Taylor Charlton. For nearly two months, the disappearance of the fifteen-year-old was treated by the public…
FOOTPRINTS FOUND IN THE FOREST 🚨 Days after Taylor Charlton went missing, search teams recovered a pair of blue Nike shoes believed to belong to the missing teenager. Eight weeks later, police arrested a murder suspect while continuing to investigate how the shoes ended up hundreds of meters apart
The dense, sprawling woodlands and volatile tidal marshes of North Devon have become the focal point of one of the most agonizing and perplexing missing person cases in recent British history. What began as a desperate search for fifteen-year-old Taylor…
End of content
No more pages to load
