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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Nolan King

Jake Paul stops Mike Perry by sixth-round TKO, calls out UFC champ Alex Pereira

Jake Paul continues to put a beating on MMA guys.

The latest victim was also a bareknuckle guy, as Mike Perry was stopped by Paul in Round 6 of their cruiserweight fight Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

Paul was largely dominant throughout the fight. He knocked down Perry early in Round 2. Then after some Perry success, Paul regained his stride and jabbed Perry over and over. Perry struggled with the range and eventually was tagged badly in Round 6.

Paul smelled blood in the water and charged. He hit Perry with a combination that floored the former UFC fighter and current BKFC star to the canvas.

Perry rose to his feet at the referee’s eight-count. But when asked to take a step sideways, Perry stumbled and the fight was waved off.

Afterward, Paul turned his attention to his immediate next step: a Nov. 15 showdown with boxing legend Mike Tyson. The fight was supposed to take place Saturday but was postponed in May due to health concerns with Tyson.

As for the more distant future, Paul name-dropped another combat sports champion in the UFC’s Alex Pereira.

“Alex Pereira, you say you want to box,” Paul said during his in-cage interview with Ariel Helwani. “I’m the king of this. I’m the king of this. Come over. We can make it happen. I want you, Alex Pereira. … I just beat a BKFC champion. I’ve beat multiple UFC champions. He said he wants to box. So Alex Pereira, after Mike Tyson, let’s make it happen.”

Paul, 27, now has boxing wins over MMA notables Perry, Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley (twice), and Ben Askren. He’s on a four-fight winning streak that dates back to his only career loss, a split decision to Tommy Fury.

Perry, 32, entered Saturday’s bout with a 0-1 record in traditional professional boxing and had not competed in the discipline since 2015. He has, however, found tremendous success in BKFC, where he has become one of the faces of the promotion with a 5-0 bareknuckle record.

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