The UFC president has spoken to Mike Tyson’s wife about the Jake Paul fight, and revealed what she’s said about it.
Highlights
- Dana White has been very open about his concerns over Mike Tyson fighting Jake Paul.
- However, he recently spoke to Iron Mike’s wife, and it seems like she may have reassured him about her husband’s training.
- Tyson will be 58 years old when he fights Paul, who is 30 years his junior.
UFC honcho Dana White recently revealed that he has spoken with Mike Tyson’s wife about the boxing legend’s upcoming fight with Jake Paul, a man 30 years his junior come fight night.
White has previously said that he is not the biggest fan of Tyson returning to the ring, especially given the fact he will be 58 years old when the event comes around. The UFC president himself has a history of not signing older fighters to his company, opting instead for younger talent. A notable exception to this rule, however, was 35-year-old Cesar Almeida being signed to the Contender Series 57, but this is nothing compared to Tyson’s age.
Dana White on Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul
However, the conversation White had with Tyson’s wife prompted the UFC’s head to comment that Tyson is taking the fight very seriously. When talking to Lex Fridman, White said: “I love Mike Tyson, and I’m not a fan of anybody fighting at our age, but he’s a grown man obviously, and he’s going to do what he’s going to do.
“I talked to his wife a couple of days ago, and he’s taking it seriously, and he’s training for it.”
However, White still recognises the draw of Tyson stepping into the ring again: “I think Mike Tyson is one of the most unique guys who have crossed over. Any of the other fighters from his generation have no way of making money without fighting and Mike Tyson has made a lot of money outside of fighting. Tyson still has that aura that you could be in a restaurant, you’d be like ‘Holy f***, Mike Tyson is here.’ He still has that aura and energy in a room, he makes lots of money outside of the ring, but I think he ends up getting these offers that he can’t refuse.”
It seems, then, that White recognises the marketability of Tyson coming back to the ring, but is nonetheless still somewhat hesitant about his age being a factor in the fight.
Dana White is not a fan of Jake Paul
White has also previously joked about the quality of Paul’s opponents in his boxing career thus far. Paul has primarily challenged fighters coming into the twilight of their careers, apart from in his loss against Tommy Fury, the only loss of his career to date. On the Pound 4 Pound podcast, White commented: “Jake Paul did fight a kid his age and he lost. I just saw this thing on the internet yesterday and I reposted it where it says if he beats Mike Tyson, he’s going to fight with Clint Eastwood next. Clint Eastwood is 93 years old.”
Previously, the UFC chief slammed Paul for facing a ’40-year-old’ MMA fighter in Nate Diaz. Therefore, his criticism of Paul’s quality of opposition is not a new phenomenon. Paul took this fight soon after his defeat to Tommy Fury, and the former Disney star came out on top via unanimous decision.
Rather than just criticising his opponents, White went on to say that Paul is not a serious fighter. Instead, “what he wants to do is make money.” White alleged that Paul’s followers do not buy pay-per-views, so he has to fight people who bring in an audience who are willing to pay to watch the bout.
