What happens in a room full of celebrities when a fighter walks in? Someone with the kind of energy that makes people stop and stare. Well, Dana White, the face of the UFC, knows someone who has a different kind of electricity. His remarks, time and again, tell us something more profound about fighting than any stat sheet ever could. But why do fighters trigger something ancient in all of us? That’s the story the UFC kingpin unraveled in one of the most unexpected places: Khloé Kardashian’s podcast, Khloé in Wonderland, Ep. 14.

It wasn’t the kind of conversation you’d expect between a Kardashian and the UFC president. The conversation veered quickly into territory White knows better than anyone alive, which is the mythology of combat sports. He explained the aura of boxing legend Mike Tyson, “If you think of Tyson and his peak when that guy would walk into a room, the whole place would go ‘Holy ___ there’s Mike Tyson.’ No other sport has that.” 

Khloé didn’t miss the beat. “Even those other athletes look up to the Tyson-like guys,” she responded. White agreed and went on further by comparing Iron Mike, the phenomenon, to another GOAT, Michael Jordan. “You’re right. You’d be excited—‘Oh there’s Michael Jordan’—but when one of those guys walks in the room and they’re looked at as the baddest human being on the planet? Men, women, everybody is just drawn to it.”

The author articulated this perspective precisely, showing why fighting, as a sport, continues to capture human interest long after championships are won or careers end. “It’s just something inside us as human beings,” White said. “We get fighting and we like it. We are fascinated by who the toughest person in the world is.”

UFC fans can’t agree more. They could feel that thread stretch across every reference point in the conversation, from Conor McGregor’s presence to Mike Tyson’s mythos.

For Dana White, Mike Tyson still looms large over sports culture more than Michael Jordan

There’s a reason White name-dropped Tyson, who is not an active boxing champion. Even two decades removed from his final pro fight, Tyson’s name still circulates in fight talk rooms and boardrooms alike. It’s not about win-loss records. It’s about how people react when he walks into a room.

The Tyson reverence becomes even sharper when juxtaposed with how White talked about Michael Jordan and LeBron James last year, which he did candidly on The Sage Steele Show. “I love Michael Jordan. I love the killer that he was… all the bad stuff I hear about Jordan?” White added. “That killer instinct … never accepting anything less from anyone else … that’s the intangible others can’t match.”

That speaks volumes. The same instinct that draws people to a fighter, curiosity and respect, is what White recognizes in athletes like Jordan. And it’s that intensity that defines his ideal fighter, Mike Tyson.

But White’s reverence comes with boundaries. On Club Shay Shay last year, when asked about Tyson’s upcoming bout with Jake Paul, his tone shifted. “Mike shouldn’t be fighting,” White said. “Mike’s 58 years old. You know what I mean?”

UFC head pointed to Paul’s matchmaking history and said plainly, “If he wants to do boxing, why not fight guys that actually box for a living? And guys that are your age? How about that?” He referenced how Jake Paul was defeated when matched with a professional his own size and age. He drew a comparison to Butterbean, who enjoyed mass appeal, until he didn’t.

“Once he got beat, the novelty wore off.” White’s concern for Mike was evident. He doubted the long-term credibility of boxing as a sport. When Tyson, even in his late fifties, is the draw, what does that say about the state of the division?

Dana White, on Khloe Kardashian’s podcast, acknowledged the intimidating presence of Tyson, which enhances the allure of fighters, possibly even more than the legendary Jordan. His admiration for MJ is undeniable, but he emphasized that someone like Kid Dynamite can change the temperature of a room simply by being present. You cannot manufacture this.

Do today’s fighters still carry that same gravity, or are we chasing ghosts of a different era? Drop your take below. Name the last fighter, past or present, who could freeze a room the way Tyson did.