Mike Perry leaves Jake Paul looking uncomfortable after brutal win over Nate Diaz

Speaking to Ariel Helwani inside the cage, Perry appeared to catch Paul off guard by targeting him directly. He said: “Jake is crazy calling out Francis Ngannou. I’m not gonna call out Ngannou, but I would MMA against Jake Paul.”

Paul did answer positively, but only after a few seconds. His response felt unusually measured for someone who normally controls these moments with instant confidence and volume.

Before praising the Bare Knuckle ‘King of Violence’, he eventually replied: “I’ll MMA this m————. I already beat that a— in boxing.”

Paul and Perry already have a history. The YouTuber-turned-boxer stopped Perry in the sixth round of their boxing fight in July 2024, after dropping him three times. It was a clear win, but it came under Paul’s rules.

A few minutes before that exchange, ‘The Problem Child’ had said on MVP’s broadcast that he had been cleared to return to sparring. He also confirmed his interest in MMA, although he suggested boxing would come first and any MMA opportunity would have to wait.

Perry’s callout could now add pressure to Paul’s MMA move, as he just made the challenge public, direct and difficult to dismiss.