Mike Perry is set to face Jake Paul in a highly anticipated boxing match on July 20. Prior to this bout, Perry was in talks to face another prominent social media personality, Dillon Danis, in an MMA match.
In a recent interview with The MMA Hour, Perry revealed that he was still interested in facing Danis, a former Bellator star and IBJJF brown belt gold medalist, in an MMA contest. “It’s interesting. I was still looking at that Dillon Danis fight. That wasn’t going to be a boxing match because we all saw how he performed in boxing. I don’t want any excuses. I was supposed to fight him after I beat up Jake Paul but after I beat Jake Paul, let’s be honest, I could just chill out for a bit and let things unravel around me,” said Perry.
Danis, who has a 2-0 record in Bellator MMA, has grappled the likes of Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon in the past. His last performance, however, was a dismal disqualification loss to Jake Paul’s brother, Logan Paul in Boxing. Danis hasn’t competed in MMA since 2019 and has undergone two knee reconstructions.
In the same interview, Perry revealed his plans for Danis if the MMA fight were to happen. “I was going to knee him in the face and elbow him…If he gives up his back, I would have tried to go for the choke. Why not? I ain’t got a submission before, I like to punch people. I am very highly skilled in MMA. It might just be something that I take to the grave, those skills,” he said.
Perry also noted that he recently had an MMA training session with Lyoto Machida and other high-level UFC stars and jiu-jitsu black belts, and he still has his skills intact. “I recently did an MMA round with Lyoto Machida and a couple other high-level UFC fighters, jiu-jitsu black belts and I’ve still got it. I’m very highly skilled in fighting, no matter what the art is but boxing is definitely something I prefer to practice on,” he added.
“Prior to Mike Perry stepping in for Mike Tyson, there were rumors of negotiations between the two. But here’s where it gets tricky: if Perry defeats Jake Paul, he’ll have raised his profile substantially, allowing him to continue in boxing or bare-knuckle boxing, and he would likely not be interested in MMA due to the smaller payday attached.”
