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Jake Paul will fight Mike Perry instead of Mike Tyson on July 20. Originally scheduled to face Tyson on July 20 in Arlington, Texas, their bout has been pushed back to November after ‘Iron Mike’ suffered an injury during training. This is not surprising, given that the former heavyweight champ is 58 and suffers from a bevy of health issues (including mobility issues, which have forced him to use a wheelchair, on occasion).

Terrell Owens holding Dude Wipes XL

This is why ‘The Problem Child’ will now face former UFC star and the biggest bare-knuckled boxing star in the world, ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry on July 20, albeit at a different venue in Tampa, Florida. While fans had predictably been outraged as Paul, 27, and in the prime of his life, fighting the 58-year-old Tyson, his matchup with Perry has gone down much better with fight fans.

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And now, it seems the former Disney star has his sights set on another superstar: Conor McGregor. ‘Notorious’, of course, is the biggest star in the history of mixed martial arts and was the first in the sport to cross over and box Floyd Mayweather back in 2017. And Paul, in a lengthy post on his Instagram account has seemingly called for a fight against McGregor next.

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“1 Mike, 2 Mikes, 3 Mikes, 4

The fact is every opponent has touched the floor

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5 months until Tyson and I go to war

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So in the meantime me & Perry are going to make Tampa roar

I fear no man, anytime, anywhere, anyplace

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On July 20th it’s going to be another W, so let us say grace

For the BKFC champ, who will take a knee

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Then we will go to Ireland and take McGregors equity

#PaulPerry Live on DAZN pay-per-view,” Paul wrote.

Perry, of course, is currently signed to the BKFC, America’s first bare-knuckle boxing promotion, where he is the part-owner. And so is Conor McGregor, who became a minority stakeowner in the David Feldman-led promotion earlier this year.

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In his post, along with confirming that he would be fighting Perry, the YouTuber declared that he “will go to Ireland and take McGregor’s equity” after fighting ‘Platinum’, probably a reference to ‘Mac’s equity in the BKFC. However, there is a slim chance Paul will fight McGregor because of one very simple reason: Dana White.

Dana White stands between potential Conor McGregor vs. Jake Paul fight

UFC CEO Dana White and Jake Paul do not like each other. Paul, of course, has been vocal and loud in his criticism of the UFC, especially over the contentious topic of fighter pay. And the UFC boss has been just as acerbic in his criticism of Paul, having called him a “PPV turd” two years ago.

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And Conor McGregor, by virtue of being signed to the UFC, needs the promotion’s blessings before he can box Paul (or anyone outside the UFC). And Dana White will almost surely not agree to his biggest superstar helping make Paul money.

Former UFC star Jorge Masvidal who retired from the promotion last year is gearing up to face old rival Nate Diaz in a boxing match on July 6. In a recent interview, ‘Gamebred’ had revealed that originally he was eyeing a boxing match against ‘The Problem Child’, and needed the UFC’s permission since he was technically still under contract with the promotion.

However, the idea was promptly shot down by Dana White, who, according to Masvidal, didn’t want him to make money for the celebrity boxer. And if McGregor were to approach the boss asking to fight Jake Paul, the answer is most likely to be a polite but firm no.

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Written by

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Kanishk Thakur

2,731 Articles

Kanishk Thakur is a senior UFC writer at EssentiallySports with over 2500 articles. A seasoned writer with about 5 years of professional writing experience, he has expertly covered the heated rivalries in the fight game and delivered meticulous reports of athlete payouts here at ES. Additionally, he also unravels stories that occur outside the cage, in fighters' lives. Conor McGregor even shouted out Kanishk's spread on Forged Irish stout on his socials. When he's not drafting his next piece for his readers, you can find him hunched over a book.

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Edited by

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Tripti Sarda

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