UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley recently shared his interest in a potential boxing match between YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and BKFC star Mike Perry. Despite the outcome of Paul’s upcoming bout against Nate Diaz, O’Malley believes a match against Perry would be “interesting.”
There were doubts whether Tommy Fury would be able to compete in his boxing match versus Paul earlier this year.
Therefore, Mike Perry was named as the official backup in case Fury pulled out. Although Perry wasn’t needed in February, O’Malley believes a matchup between Paul and Perry would be exciting in the future.
In a recent episode of the TimboSugaShow, O’Malley said the following in reference to his enthusiasm for Paul vs. Perry:
Jake Paul suffered his first professional boxing defeat when Fury showed up for his bout against him. Paul is currently scheduled to compete against Diaz on August 5 in a boxing match.
Mike Perry has become a renowned figure in the BKFC since leaving the UFC in April 2021. He has won three against Julian Lane, Michael Page, and Luke Rockhold.
During the podcast episode, O’Malley’s coach and close friend Tim Welch speculated whether Paul would entertain the idea of competing against Perry in the BKFC. He said: “I wonder if Jake [Paul] would even entertain that if Bare Knuckle FC is like, ‘Hey, we’ll give you $5 million to fight Mike Perry.’ I wonder if he’d be like, ‘f**k no.’”
Although Paul seems unlikely to try bare-knuckle fighting due to concerns about damage, O’Malley believes that a matchup between Paul and Perry would still be captivating.
After his upcoming boxing bout on August 5, Paul is expected to make his MMA debut with PFL. He has also expressed his interest in pursuing a massive boxing match against someone like Conor McGregor or Canelo Alvarez.