The relationship between Jake Paul and the sport of mixed martial arts overall is fraught. As ‘The Problem Child’ has fought and humiliated a few MMA fighters, who were either retired or past their primes, in boxing matches, it has made him almost universally hated in the MMA community.

His upcoming opponent, ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry, whom he will fight tonight in Tampa, Florida, is also a former UFC star who quit the promotion for the BKFC a few years ago. While the former Disney star seems determined to keep boxing and try to build himself to a title shot, there are also hints that he might be more than interested in trying out mixed martial arts.

Jake Paul wants to fight Nate Diaz in MMA

Jake Paul is signed with the Professional Fighting League (PFL), the second biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world, and a direct competitor to the UFC. ‘The Problem Child’ is part of the Donn Davis-founded organization’s ‘PPV Super Fight’ category, which means he gets 50% of all profits from events he headlines.

The former Disney star had offered UFC superstar Nate Diaz a rematch in the PFL under the unified rules of mixed martial arts, which Diaz would be the overwhelming favorite going into. This would also give the Stockton native a chance to avenge his unanimous decision loss to ‘The Problem Child’ at their August 2023 boxing match.

As if this wasn’t enough, Paul sweetened the pot by offering a $15 million purse to Diaz. But, despite all this, the former UFC star declined. For a very simple reason: his loyalty to the UFC. While Diaz is a free agent at the moment and can fight at the PFL if he wants to, doing so would undoubtedly make UFC CEO Dana White livid. And since the Stockton native wants to get back to the UFC, he sensibly doesn’t want to tick off the boss.

One thing is clear from all of this: Jake Paul is willing and serious to fight in mixed martial arts and probably would have had his first MMA bout by this time if Diaz had accepted the PFL offer. ‘The Problem Child’, after fighting Perry, is slated to fight Mike Tyson on November 15, if everything goes right. After that, however, no one should be surprised if Jake Paul makes his MMA debut. But one thing is for certain, it wouldn’t be in the UFC.

Paul claims Dana White has put a price on his head

The dislike and animosity for Paul is not just found in abundance among MMA fans, but goes all the way up the sport to the very top. UFC CEO Dana White, for example, is not a fan of ‘The Problem Child’ and makes it known in no uncertain terms every chance he gets. Paul has been one of the loudest voices accusing the UFC CEO of underpaying its fighters, which is always sure to anger White.

So much does the UFC CEO dislike the Puerto Rico native, that he has even prevented any of his fighters from doing business with the former Disney star, as he doesn’t want Paul to make any money if White can help it. And it seems that the UFC CEO is so determined to see Paul lose that he has put a price on his head (or at least to knock him out).

Jake Paul has claimed that Dana White offered Mike Perry a lucrative UFC contract if ‘Platinum’ knocks out the celebrity boxer in their upcoming fight. During an interview with Ariel Helwani, Paul claimed, “But look, Dana White said that he’s going to give (Perry) a UFC contract if he could knock me out. Well, guess what, Dana? You can rip up the (expletive) contract because I’m going to (expletive) up Mike Perry. Anyone you send at me, any one of your MMA fighters, is getting (expletive) up.”

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