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Jake Paul Challenges Alex Pereira, FaceTimes In Ring After Knockout of Mike Perry

June 29, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) reacts after defeating Jiri Prochazka (blue gloves) during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Paul says he’ll become a cruiserweight world champion in two years, but it appears he has his sights set on UFC champion Alex Pereira first.

Following a six-round submission win over Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s Mike Perry, Paul challenged Pereira, who was fresh off a brutal knockout victory over Jiri Prochazaka at UFC 303.

“Alex Pereria, you said you wanted to box—I am—I’m the king of this, I’m the king of this, come over here,” Paul said. “We can make it happen, I want you, Alex Pereria.

Moments after the call, Paul’s business partner and Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian handed The Problem Child a phone with a FaceTime call from Pereira.

“Will Dana (White) release you (from your UFC contract)?” Paul asked.

“We will talk to him,” Pereira said.

Paul told Pereira that he was light work and told UFC CEO Dana White that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Then the call went dead as Paul hung up and Pereira burst out laughing.

White is notoriously and openly against Paul’s boxing circus. Every time Paul fights an ex-MMA fighter, he wins. Reports say White offered Perry a new UFC contract if he could knock Paul out.

It’s clear that the UFC boss doesn’t like Paul, but it seems unlikely that one of the biggest stars in combat would break his contract. Perhaps Pereira saw an opportunity to have some fun with the callout and jumped on the bandwagon to make it viral.

Pereira just turned 37 and we know Paul has a soft spot for older MMA guys. Poatan, however, is at his best. He’s on a four-fight winning streak, with his last loss coming in April 2023 to Israel Adesanya. He’s a former UFC middleweight champion and the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion.

White is currently leaning toward matching Pereira with Jon Jones, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion. Even after Pereira’s dominance in recent years, White still publicly backs Jones as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

Meanwhile, Paul’s next fight is expected to take place in Dallas on November 15. The long-awaited Netflix showdown against the legendary Mike Tyson could finally happen.

“Mike, I love you, but this is my sport now,” Paul said. “You’re a legend. You’re one of the two most famous boxers that ever lived. You and Muhammad Ali. It’s an honor to be in the ring with you. I feel so, so honored, you’re a legend.

“But I’m going to take your throne, brother.”

Challenging the 58-year-old Tyson won’t bring Paul any closer to his goal of becoming world champion. But it will earn him a lot of money.

Fighting Pereira would probably make both men quite rich too. And that’s what this whole charade is about.