The entire world of combat sports has expressed dismay about 58-year-old Mike Tyson getting ready to face a much younger opponent. Needless to say, the former heavyweight boxing champion has been fighting battles with his health for quite some time now. While preparing to fight Jake Paul earlier on the 20th of July 2024. However, an ulcer flare-up prevented the ‘Baddest Man On The Planet’ from fighting Paul. 

But now, a new date has been set to feature Paul versus Tyson. The fight is scheduled to go down on 15th November 2024. As the date for Tyson’s fight began circling the internet, Joe Rogan, in his podcast, expressed concerns over ‘Iron Mike’s growing age. However, the beloved UFC color commentator provided the JRE audience with a unique perspective. Yet, it seems like one MMA expert has already made up his mind on how the fight between Tyson and Paul would proceed.

UFC star weighs in on Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson

On his appearance on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube talk show, Ben Askren revealed his thoughts about the highly debated matchup in the boxing realm. Just like many other professional fighters, Askren also believed that Tyson was a bit too old to fight ‘The Problem Child’. Winning a fight greatly depends on one’s stamina as well as power. While the former heavyweight boxing world champion still has a portion of the strength he used to possess back in his heyday, he lacked the stamina to go on for 8 long rounds.

Weighing in on this, Askren said, “I just feel like 58 is… Probably the one thing you probably retain is the power. So, it’s probably Mike Tyson needs to catch him. But the gas tank and all the other things to go along with it are definitely going downhill, especially when you haven’t been doing it very competitively.”

The duo then reflected back on Paul’s fight with the bare-knuckle fighting champion, Mike Perry. While the bout began with both fighters on high energy, Perry began to lose his breath after a few rounds. Paul, being a young fighter, made use of his reserve gas tank and knocked ‘Platinum’ out. With the fight on 15th November in mind, ‘Funky’ claimed that Tyson vs. Paul would proceed similarly. The former mixed martial artist said, “I mean, I feel like that’s how it’s gonna go. It’s gonna be competitive early. And 58 is old, and he’s probably gonna get tired and yeah…”

https://twitter.com/MikeTyson/status/1799217647781134417

But what exactly did Rogan say about Tyson? Let’s find out!

Joe Rogan claimed that ‘Iron Mike’ wasn’t an average 58YO

Talking to Russell Crowe on episode #2191 of the Joe Rogan Experience, the famed UFC color commentator expressed his concerns about Tyson’s age. He said, “58 is 58, no matter what! No matter what you’re taking, and what they’re doing for you, and… You’re still 58.” However, there was a catch! Rogan didn’t seem to believe Tyson was just any other 58-year-old man. He indeed had the ability and the power to knock people out with a single strike.  

Rogan continued, “But 58-year-old Mike Tyson is not 58-year-old Mike Jones that lives down the street. He’s a different type of human being. He can still knock your head into another dimension if he can catch you.” Yes! The only way ‘Iron Mike’ can defeat Paul is if he catches him and connects his powerful fists.

On the other hand, ‘The Problem Child’ was making exceptional moves in the fighting community, by garnering victories over celebrated fighters like Tommy Fury, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva. No wonder the whole wide world is worried about Tyson. But at the end of the day, Askren and DC seemed to believe that it wasn’t a smart move for Paul to fight a fan favorite Tyson. Even if he wins, the backlash would be pretty severe. 

What are your thoughts on the matchup between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.