Jake Paul drenched yet another MMA notable Saturday when he defeated ‘King of Violence’ and BKFC brand face Mike Perry. He met ‘Platinum’ in an eight-round cruiserweight ( -200 lbs) fight Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The bout streamed live on DAZN pay-per-view. Yet neither of them was the star attraction. That’d be the viral ‘Hawk Tuah‘ girl!
When the duo was up to their usual last-minute shadow parry and shenanigans in the locker, Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry saw its biggest attraction walk in. With Tony Aguilar and Corey Marksman locked in a super close battle on the undercard, Paul’s betting app Betr decided to drop a bomb. ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl, aka Hailey Welch, was a total show-stealer and was ecstatic on her feet when Paul won the fight.
That was some good sh*t, that was some good sh*t right there...It's being damn cra*zy [the fame as 'Hawk Tuah]...[on a next surprise; winks] It's a surprise...Hailey Welch aka ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl reacting to Paul vs. Perry DAZN PPV, Tampla, Fla.; H/T: indy100.com
Perry, 32, entered Saturday’s bout with a 0-1 record in the sweet sciences. Meanwhile, ‘El Gallo’ is now 10-1 with 7 KOs. His only career loss came to tried and tested boxing top crop Tommy Fury. ‘Hawk Tuah’ Welch, who rose to prominence during the man-on-the-street interview on TimandDee TV, didn’t care about semantics. She enjoyed the card thoroughly and even had a huge smile when Paul knocked Perry down in the second round.
Welch wasn’t far off when one social media user asked her for her predictions, and she said Paul would win in the 5th. She also seemingly enjoyed Amanda Serrano beat Stevie Morgan by TKO in a very one-sided affair. Serrano, another MVP top crop, will continue her momentum to rematch Katie Taylor next. Meanwhile, Paul has the playing field. Welch wasn’t the only reaction to the win so far.
MMA Pros give mixed reaction to Jake Paul’s win
Paul, 27, now has boxing bout wins over Mike Perry, Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley (X2), and Ben Askren. Other than MMA people, he has also squared off with boxing journeymen. ‘Problem Child’ often comes under fire for intentionally lining all the odds in his favor; most of the time, he has faced age above 35. But it does not change the fact that Paul is on a four-fight winning streak.
The Ohio influencer-turned-boxer has put in the work; consequently, it showed. Through the last seven years, he has honed his skill enough to attack at range, tagging Perry many times. Despite a wobble in R2, Perry found some success and grazed the pugilist above his left eye, bleeding him.
However, Jake Paul was dominant throughout, connecting at range even when he took shots. He jabbed Perry over and over, eventually tagging him in R6. Here’s what MMA and boxing peers think of it:
Jake is gigantic haha. This is ridiculous
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 21, 2024Easy 10-8 for Paul in Round 1. Scored a quick knockdown, and just lit Perry up when he chose to throw. #PaulPerry
— Matthew Wells (@MrMWells) July 21, 2024Something is wrong with Perry leg he is limping during the fight and back to the corner
— Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouse) July 21, 2024Respect to Jake Paul for embracing combat sports and WINNING, but we need one for the MMA guys. Great scrap so far! Can’t count Perry out! And Jake boxing very well!#PaulPerry
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) July 21, 2024Another round for Paul. I don't see how this changes at this point. #PaulPerry
— Matthew Wells (@MrMWells) July 21, 2024Jake Paul stops Mike Perry in Round 6.
Perry was hurt, then knocked down in a flurry. Upon the referee's eight-count, he stumbled – and that was it. #PaulPerry
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) July 21, 2024Somebody call Ngannou 📞 lol
We can't let this keep happening 😭 lmao.
Paul's Jab was super on point tonight.
I know there’s a size difference in a lot of Paul fights, but the man is constantly improving in each fight. Credit to him for that part. I would like to see him fight more guys his size like he did with the Fury fight. He could do something in this sport for sure.
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) July 21, 2024As a result, gimmicky or not, fighting older opponents or not, Paul had a lot of praise his way. He delivered some on-point jabs and definitive shots, even when not looking.
Told ya@jakepaul is a real boxer and is bringing more eyes to boxing and giving fight opportunities to a lot of people.
He’s here to stay @MostVpromotions
— Jessy Jess (@missjessyjess) July 21, 2024Now that Hawk Tauh Girl has entered into the combat sports arena, I have to give some props to Jake Paul for drawing such an eclectic audience into boxing that otherwise would not give the time of day!
This Hawk Tauh phenomenon is worth a case study, really. I guess the right… pic.twitter.com/4e2QWNhFSX
— Jim Yang (@bionicleap77) July 21, 2024Additionally, a few peers also commended him for having the mettle of a “real boxer.” With notorieties like Hulk Hogan attending and ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl stealing the scene, the closing bout went even more viral. All in all, he also got heaps of praise “for drawing such an eclectic audience into boxing.”
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