This sport always seems to find a way.
With outlet Happy Punch in
conjunction with MMA matchmaker Dean Toole and newly created
organization Duel, they released a fight poster on Friday
announcing an MMA event in August. Atop the “Duel: Arena” billing,
one where there is but a single bout announced thus far, will see
Mike
Perry (15-8) throw down with Dillon
Danis (2-0) at 170 pounds. The organization, formed by online
crypto casino Duelbet, has indicated that there will be MMA matches
alongside kickboxing and boxing. It will all be contained in a ring
at the Kia Arena in Orlando on Aug. 29.
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Reaction to the fight itself has been overwhelmingly negative, with
Ultimate Fighting Championship cutman Brad Tate
as well as fighters Philip
Rowe, Charles
Johnson and Jorge
Masvidal all responding quickly to the Instagram announcement
post. Some have already campaigned to either join the card
themselves or push for their friends or training partners to get
involved. Many have suggested that this fight will not stay intact
for long. Of note, this event may be co-promoted by Masvidal’s
“Gamebred Fighting Championship” or “Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA”
leagues, as the ticket site initially displayed the Gamebred logo
rather than something listing Duel itself.
Mismatch of the century with Perry vs. Danis
Of the two men billed in the marquee, Perry has remained
consistently active across a variety of combat sports since his
departure from the UFC in 2021. Having won just once in five of his
last outings in MMA, Perry removed his gloves and kept fighting.
The welterweight slugger stayed in the headlines by competing six
times for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship organization, one
where he claimed and defended the symbolic “King of Violence”
trophy for his stoppages over Eddie
Alvarez and Jeremy
Stephens. Additionally, Perry dabbled in professional boxing, returning to a
sport in which he first joined in early 2015 when also just getting
started in MMA. His loss to Kenneth McNeil marked his sole boxing
match until he faced Jake Paul in
2024 in a late-notice spot, stepping in for legendary boxer Mike
Tyson. Perry succumbed to strikes from the YouTuber-turned-boxer in
the sixth round. He also dabbled in a one-off mixed combat card
called “Triad Combat” where MMA fighters faced boxers in a
triangle-shaped ring, winning in his lone appearance on the
scorecards.
Along the way, “Platinum Mike” founded Dirty Boxing Championship,
which mixes striking rules from various disciplines. Perry
officially came back to MMA in May, when he was recruited by former
adversary Paul to compete in the co-main attraction of the first
MVP MMA show. Perry outdueled Nate Diaz,
forcing the Stockton native’s corner to call a halt to the match
two rounds in.
A Misfit among Misfits
Danis has not competed in professional MMA since two 175-pound
catchweight affairs in 2018 and 2019 under the Bellator MMA banner. He did appear in an MMA-adjacent
show of Misfits 22 in August 2025, but the organization implements
a time limit for grappling exchanges and therefore was billed an
exhibition.
Like Perry, Danis also tried to tag into influencer boxing. At a
Misfits card in 2023, he boxed Logan Paul
and ended up getting himself disqualified after attempting
takedowns and a guillotine choke in a boxing match. An irate Paul
brother after the bout
deemed Danis a “coward” while calling him, “a dirty, dirty
human being.”
The much-maligned former jiu-jitsu player has been involved with
numerous altercations at UFC events, to the point that he has been
permanently banned from attending all shows. He is currently being
sued by Logan Paul’s fiancé, Nina Agdal, for defamation, in a case
recently updated as Danis’ attorney withdrew for a second time
after Danis failed to pay his bills.