In the midst of a possible Floyd Mayweather – Conor McGregor crossover superbout, one can’t help but wonder how some of yesteryear’s greatest boxers would have fared against today’s best mixed martial artists. It’s nice to sit back and think about it, even for a little while.
Boxing is slowly taking a back seat to MMA since Mayweather retired. You rarely hear any boxing news nowadays. Furthermore, a lot of boxers have become big MMA fans. Guys like the legendary Iron Mike Tyson have dibble dabbled in MMA recently.
Could Mike Tyson Have Done Well In MMA?
In fact speaking of Tyson, the former heavyweight champion of the world made some comments recently about how he would do against one of MMA’s greatest legends should he have tried MMA back in his glory days.
Tyson was the most popular boxer in the world throughout the late 1980’s and 1990’s. At the same time, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Royce Gracie shocked the entire world when he won the first UFC in 1993 by submitting three dudes in one night.
If Tyson and Gracie were to have fought back in the day, it would surely be a blockbuster matchup. But how would Tyson do if they he and Gracie fought back in 1993? Tyson recently made this statement:
“Well, in ’93, I was in prison, so there wouldn’t have been a fight, but there is no way I would have won,” said Tyson.
“I had no idea what was going on with that type of fighting and would’ve been taken by surprise. I would have had to train in that particular art of fighting before that happened.”
Mike Tyson With Grappling Skills Would Have Been A Scary Thing
Being one of the world’s most dangerous boxers at the time, Iron Mike backed down from no man. There wasn’t a soul on Earth he wouldn’t go one-on-one with. Even then, Tyson knew he wouldn’t last a minute on the ground with Gracie.
“That’s a particular art. You’re not going to go in there with just your hand and not have a great ground game. You also need a great wrestling game to be successful, and you won’t be exciting, as well,” said Tyson.
“You have to have both games. You have to know how to wrestle and box. That’s just the truth.”
Still, Tyson maintains that he would have tried MMA regardless.
“My ego would have told me I’m the best fighter in the world with all the particular fighting aspects, and I would have tried it,” Tyson said.
What do you guys think? How scary would Mike Tyson have been in MMA had he possessed solid grappling skills?
