Last week, Jake Paul defeated legendary boxer Mike Tyson by unanimous decision at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in what was one of the most unlikely bouts in the history of the sport. The fight went all eight rounds with neither fighter landing any significant strikes nor was there major damage sustained by either fighter. The peculiarity of this bout led many to believe that this fight might’ve actually been fixed to go all eight rounds in favor of Paul. However, UFC insider Chael Sonnen thinks otherwise, and gave his actual thoughts on why Mike Tyson lost that fight.

Chael Sonnen said that the real reason why Mike Tyson lost that fight was because of fear. Sonnen revealed that due to his age, Tyson feared that he would get exhausted if he went all out on Paul, leading him to fight more defensively after the first round.

“It’s every wrestler’s biggest fear: Can I get through this? And Mike had that [same fear]. Mike was scared to death by the parameters of the fight. He switched over to what we call a moral victory. He switched over there about three minutes and ten seconds into the fight. He switched to, ‘I do not have the energy; I don’t have the skill or the speed needed to beat this young man, but I got to make it eight rounds. Including if this young man starts to take mercy on me; however, I got to do it to get there, it’s the best thing I can get now’.”, ‘The American Gangster’ said on his YouTube channel.

Chael Sonnen further added that Mike Tyson ‘downloaded’ all the combinations and strikes Jake Paul was throwing at him, and realized that he could not win the fight. So instead, he opted to go for the moral victory of surviving all eight rounds. And while a video went viral on the internet, showing ‘Kid Dynamite’ pulling his punches without hitting Paul, Chael Sonnen said that those were just setups for follow-up punches, where ‘The Problem Child’ anticipated those strikes and moved out of the way. Sonnen added that people who talk about the video as evidence of match-fixing never boxed in real life.

In their fight, after a first round of aggression, Mike Tyson’s began started to show. Tyson was slow for most of the fight and barely landed any significant hits. His aggression decreased considerably from the middle of the round. Paul, much younger, riddled his opponent with jabs and hooks throughout the fight, rocking the former heavyweight champion on more than one occasion. At the end of the bout, all three judges ruled 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73 in Paul’s favor.

While the fight was panned by critics and fans, both fighters made a lot of money on the night of November 15th. Their respective pays were so significant, that it even inspired Jon Jones to demand higher pay from the UFC if he were to face Tom Aspinall next.

Chael Sonnen reacts to Jon Jones’ massive pay request

Jon Jones wants to be generously compensated for fighting Tom Aspinall, but how much is the sum he is requesting? ‘Bones’ discussed the rumored payouts from Jake Paul’s boxing match with Mike Tyson. According to speculations and sources, Jake Paul earned his largest payout since entering boxing, pocketing a whopping $40 million. Mike Tyson, on the other hand, looks to have been fairly compensated for going eight rounds, and despite the blemish on his professional record, ‘Iron Mike’ is said to have pocketed $20 million.

The heavyweight champion’s reference to these stats may imply a desire to be treated similarly by the UFC. However, Chael Sonnen finds this request to be highly unreasonable. The MMA pundit believes that the business models in MMA and boxing are not similar and that he hates Jones’s attempt to make a case for himself using only rumored figures. He revealed that in the negotiations, ‘Bones’ brought up the Paul and Tyson fight, a business, and sport he is not a part of, and is constantly asking for pay based on the rumored figures online.

He said, “I don’t say this to make Jon sound stupid; he can handle that on his own. For Jon to bring in a business that’s not his… Jon, tell me who signed that mythical check of which your numbers may or may not be true. Just tell me who signed it. He can’t do that. Didn’t know who signed the check; don’t know a damn thing about the business.” Well, it surely looks like ‘Uncle Chael’ finds Jones’ request quite unreasonable. However, seeing how the heavyweight champion reacts to it would be interesting. They both have had a history, and one can imply that they’re not the biggest fans of each other, personally.

What do you think? Should Jon Jones be ‘adequately compensated’ in the UFC, like Jake Paul and Mike Tyson? Let us know in the comments.