Jake Paulo pushed Mike Perry during a confrontation at Friday’s weigh-in, then went on a rant against UFC president Dana White and mixed martial arts fighters, saying “they’re trying to assassinate me” and that they “don’t want me in this sport.”
Paul’s outburst began with a shove at Perry.
“He flew about six feet,” Paul said during an interview with Ariel Helwani on stage at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. “But look, Dana White said he’ll give (Perry) a UFC contract if he can knock me out. Well, guess what, Dana? You can tear up the (expletive) contract because I’m going to (expletive) end Mike Perry. Anyone you send my way, any of your MMA fighters will get up (expletive).
“They are trying to assassinate me. They don’t want me in this sport. They hate that I play this sport, but when you try to murder a guy like me, it just 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 continue to do. Keep winning, keep 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, pushed Paul back during the weigh-in. Several security guards pulled Perry away from Paul.
“They’re working hard to protect you, bro,” Perry said, referring to Paul. “But tomorrow night in the ring, when it’s just me and him, there’s no protection. He’s falling.
“You saw how hard those big guys had to work to get me back. I was pushing the (men). Moving them all (expletive). That’s like a thousand pounds of pressure. This is called ‘Platinum Pressure’. I’ll put this on him tomorrow night.
Perry’s trainer, James “JT” Taylor, told USA TODAY Sports that he knew nothing about a possible contract offer coming from White if Perry were to win. UFC spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter left via voicemail and text.
Jake Paul’s weigh-in
“Platinum” Mike Perry, also nicknamed the “King of Violence”, weighed 196.6 pounds. He was knocked out in 2015 in his only professional boxing fight, but is 5-0 in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Paul, who as a professional boxer is 9-1 with six knockouts, weighed 200 pounds – the maximum allowed for the cruiserweight fight.
Words were exchanged before pushing.
“Why are you nervous?” Paul said. “I can see it in your eyes.”
Perry responded, “I’m excited.”
Perry indicated he wasn’t worried about the weigh-in confrontation.
“You can have all of this,” Perry said. “I want the ring tomorrow. That ‘s all I want.”
Paulo replied: “You will eat the ring tomorrow. Face it first.
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Jake Paul weighs in on drama: Rant on Dana White, pushes Mike Perry
