The president of UFC, Dana Whitehas once again reignited the flame of controversy in the world of combat sports, this time directing his criticism at the recent confrontation between Mike Tyson y Jake Paul. Known for his tendency to be controversial, he did not hold back when talking about the event in which the YouTuber, 31 years younger than the former heavyweight king, won.
The fight, held at the Dallas Cowboys stadium, was a success, although the show could not live up to expectations. The president of the UFC appealed to irony to point out combat and the legendary boxer.
“Mike Tyson was right and I was wrong. I said, ‘Mike, you’re basically 60 years old.’ He said, ‘Do you really think this damn kid is going to do something to me? It’s not good. It’s not going to knock me out. He’s not going to do this.’ They saw him, he tripped when he was walking down the hallway, he had a hard time going up the stairs. He was wearing a knee brace and Jake Paul couldn’t do anything to him. He made a lot of money and I know people are mad because he stayed home on a Friday night, but everyone has Netflixnobody paid for it. When Mike Tyson shows up, everyone makes money. Mike Tyson is the best of all. He was right. Jake Paul couldn’t do anything to him. “He was right and I was wrong,” he lashed out.
In a more detailed analysis of the fight, Iron Mike experienced the first decision loss of his career, while Jake Paul boasted of having “spared the life” of the former world heavyweight champion. White explained: “If they didn’t think this was how the fight would play out, I don’t know what people expected.”.
The debate sparked by White highlights the persistent rivalry between these disciplines and how the UFC is trying to position itself as the undisputed leader in professional combat. From White’s point of view, the records of his champions are living proof of the internal competition that produces higher quality fights, since it is “rare that there are undefeated fighters within this industry.”
The head of the UFC criticized the initiative of the fight since it was announced, and always looked askance at Jake Paul, who comes from the world of entertainment and landed in boxing, giving it a new boost. In fact, he has already generated successful evenings before mixed martial arts stars and challenged in the last hours Conor McGregor.
Tyson, for his part, made a special reading of the defeat. “This is one of those situations where you lost, but you still won. I’m grateful for last night. I don’t regret having gone into the ring one last time.“, he wrote in his account X (before Twitter).
“I almost died in June. I received eight blood transfusions. I lost half my blood and 25 pounds (11.3 kg) in the hospital and had to fight to get healthy so I could fight, so I won”, he expanded on the ulcer outbreak that he suffered on a flight to Los Angeles, and that forced the postponement of the fight, which was originally scheduled for July.
