Mike Tyson & Israel Adesanya Agree UFC Has Taken Over Boxing With Their NBA-Like Party Atmosphere

Legendary Boxer Mike Tyson has become a part-time podcast host with his own ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast on YouTube. He recently invited UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to the show and had an in-depth discussion on various topics.

Apart from other UFC stars like Conor McGregor, Khamzat Chimaev, and Jon Jones, they also talked about MMA’s sudden rise. Mike Tyson also revealed why he thinks MMA had a meteoric rise in comparison with Boxing and what the latter could learn from it.

He said, “Fighting is entertaining, this is what boxing came late on, The reason why um… MMA is so um… fast-rising because when you go there, unlike fighting when you go there, fighting is a party. Unless somebody gets back in the ring, everybody is dancing and standing. It’s a party really, right? Till the next fight comes, he plays his music and the other guy plays his music and they’re announcing it, but till then it’s a party.”

Also Read- “Case by Case”- Israel Adesanya Reveals Impact of Father During Fights

‘The Last Stylebender’ also agreed, “Everybody’s vibing, yeah.” Mike Tyson then stated, “This is what boxing needs. It needs to be a party. When there’s nobody in the ring, it’s a party.”

Adesanya too supported the statement by bringing in NBA. He said, “Even in basketball, whenever I go watch a game, I see like the DJ like clowning the other team, the away team. I never noticed that when you’re watching on tv. You don’t hear that kind of stuff. But then, like when nothing’s happening, there’s the cheerleader, there’s the dancer, it’s a party. It’s entertainment, it’s entertainment, so that’s what keeps people going.”

Both Tyson and Adesanya agreed that MMA promotions picked up the right way of entertaining people apart from the fights themselves. The aura that is created during pay-per-view events is mind-blowing and helps attract millions of fans,

It is a fact, that promotions like UFC under Dana White’s leadership changed the face of combat sports.

Mike Tyson reveals his favorite UFC fighter

Tyson shares a great relationship with many UFC fighters and has appeared on many live events as well. Apart from inviting UFC stars on his podcast, ‘Iron Mike’ also appears on different podcasts himself.

He shares his opinions on matters related to combat sports and viewers happily tune in to get the latest byte. While appearing on the Full Send podcast with Dana White, Tyson revealed his all-time favorite UFC fighter.

Many would have imagined names like Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Francis Ngannou. However, Tyson showcased his UFC knowledge by naming one of the first big stars UFC had seen.

WATCH THIS STORY: Five opponents fans would love to see Mike Tyson fight 

“Royce Gracie,” he said. “He was everybody’s friend, and he was the David beating all the Goliath. But now everybody knows their style, now you know,” he later added.

Notably, Royce Gracie fought and won his first UFC fight at UFC 1: The Beginning, in 1993. He won the fight by submitting his opponent, Art Jimmerson, in the first round itself. He then went on to make it an 11-fight winning streak.

What do you think about Mike Tyson’s comments on the meteoric rise of MMA? Let us know in the comments down below.