White feared Jake Paul might knock him out in their November 15 showdown.
Dana White admitted he was wrong about his forecast of Jake Paul vs Iron Mike Tyson after he feared the 27-year-old might knock out the former undisputed heavyweight champion on Friday, November 15.
In the end, The Problem Child claimed an easy victory by unanimous decision in the professional fight whilst the 58-year-old got to, likely, sign off his pro career without quitting like he did back in 2005 against Kevin McBride.
The bout was largely decried and criticized for the lack of action and drama as it became apparent Iron Mike lacked the youth to keep up with Paul, who settled for controlling the contest with his jab and taking the points instead, contrary to how the UFC CEO feared it may go.
“He’s [Tyson’s] like, ‘Do you honestly think this f**king kid is gonna do anything to me,'” White recalled ahead of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. “‘He’s not good, he’s not gonna f***ing knock me out.'”
White famously does not like Jake Paul. In his quest to maximise profit margins in MMA’s most elite fighting category, the pair have clashed because the former YouTuber demanded better pay for the competitors for the risk they’re taking.
Dana White’s hilarious shark story
Taking on Paul was Tyson‘s second fight since 2020 and even that one was criticized with people arguing the ex-WBA and WBC champion was too old, as was his opponent, Roy Jones Jr.
And White found himself concerned for Iron Mike once again in that contest as he warned him not to take on the fight for fears regarding his age and to test his heart, he ended up tossing him into the Floridian ocean with a bunch of rampaging carnivorous sharks.
“You guys know the whole story about Shark Week. And if you don’t, I begged him not to do the Roy Jones fight,” White added to media of the 2020 fight. “‘[You’re] too old, I love you, I don’t want to see you take any more punishment.’
“So I set him up on Shark Week, he got paid good money and he’s like, ‘F**k it.’ So he almost flipped out last day, he was ready to kill everybody on the boat ‘cuz he had to jump in with all these sharks again in the middle of Florida.
“[Tyson was] like, ‘This f***ing a**hole [Dana White] says he cares about me, I’ve been fighting since I was twelve. And he throws me in the ocean with a bunch of sharks.’ He was right about that too.”
