Dana White admits he was completely wrong about Mike Tyson fighting at 58: “Jake Paul couldn’t do sh*t to him”
Dana White was impressed with Mike Tyson following his performance against Jake Paul. In addition, White recounted his conversation with Tyson, during which the latter expressed confidence in his chances versus Paul.
White, who is close friends with Tyson, has previously expressed his displeasure with the boxing legend taking on Paul in a boxing contest. Many in the combat sports community, including the UFC CEO, have been unhappy with the matchup since it was announced earlier this year.
The two were supposed to meet inside the squared circle on July 20, however, Tyson experienced an ulcer flare-up while traveling and withdrew from the bout, leaving many worried about his health.
Despite all the concerns, Tyson faced Paul in a heavyweight contest at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, this past Friday. Considering his age, the 58-year-old maintained a strong defensive style, avoiding Paul’s strikes repeatedly but suffered a unanimous decision loss.
During the UFC 309 post-fight press conference, White discussed the Paul vs. Tyson matchup and asserted that the YouTuber-turned-boxer didn’t inflict much harm on ‘Iron Mike’, saying:
”Mike Tyson was right and I was wrong…I told him, ‘Mike, you are basically sixty years old’ and he’s like, ‘ you honestly think this fu**ing kid is gonna do anything to me? He’s [Paul] not good, he’s not gonna fu**ing knock me out’…He [Tyson] had a knee brace on and Jake Paul couldn’t do anything to him. ”
White also gave his take on Tyson’s popularity, saying:
”For Netflix, this thing was brilliant because you knew it was gonna pull a massive number because of Mike Tyson, right? And to be fair to Jake, you’re gonna tune in to watch him get knocked out hopefully, right? That’s what everyone wants to see.”
Check out Dana White’s comments below (via Jedi Goodman’s post on X):