To say that Chuck Liddell was vicious back in his day would be a criminally underrated statement. He was violence personified! The former UFC light heavyweight champion was the first real mixed martial artist to find some mainstream popularity and carried the UFC out of the dark ages. He was a regular feature in movies like ‘Cradle 2 The Grave’, TV shows like ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Entourage’ and even in a few music videos like Nickelback’s ‘Rockstar’ in the late 2000s long before the likes of Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, and Conor McGregor took over. And there were very good reasons for the American being the face of the UFC back then.

One, of course, was his signature mohawk and French beard, which made him look incredibly cool. The other, and more important reason for ‘Iceman’s popularity was his fondness for separating people’s consciousness from their bodies. A true kill-or-be-killed type of guy, the knockout artist was excitement and violence personified. In short, the former champ was the baddest man in the world back in his day.

And since this is the fight game, the answer many fans would want that if Liddell could beat perhaps the baddest man ever, Mike Tyson, in a fight. Luckily for us, ‘The Iceman’ answered this very question in a recent interview with ‘Games With Names’.

“I was 19 years old and my grandpa said ‘Aw man you can beat that Mike Tyson guy’. That’s when Tyson was on top of the world. So I’d be like ‘Yeah pops, thanks. Thanks pops, love ya.’ But you know, nowadays it’s a funny thing, like who’d win in a street fight? Me or Tyson? He’s one of the guys I’d say, well he’s got one shot. On the way in, as we’re closing the distance, he’s got one shot. After that, if I grab a hold of him, it’s over. And now, if we’re boxing, I’m in a little trouble… I always felt like I could beat anybody,” the former UFC champ declared.

Of course, a 58-year-old Tyson wouldn’t be a big challenge for Liddell, but we assume he is talking about him and ‘Iron Mike’ in his prime. In which case, the UFC legend would be in more than a little trouble. At his best, the former heavyweight boxing champ was perhaps the most scary fighter in history, whose every move and punch was drilled to perfection.

Not to mention his unbelievable speed for his size and immense power, which helped him end many hapless opponents quite early. But in a street fight, ‘The Iceman’ indeed would have an advantage. Tyson can’t use his immense power and devastating left hooks if he’s been wrangling with a guy like Liddell on the ground. But Tyson does have ‘one shot’ as the former UFC champ pointed out, and that could be more than enough for the devastating power puncher. And speaking of devastating power punchers, even Tyson thinks his power pales in comparison against another boxing legend.

Mike Tyson names a recently deceased legend as the one who hit harder than him

Mike Tyson, we think we can all agree, had nightmarish power. Some would even say he was the most powerful puncher in the history of boxing. But Tyson isn’t one of those people. No. ‘Iron Mike’ thinks that distinction belongs to the late, great George Foreman, who passed away on March 21.

“I can’t match somebody’s power who’s that big and that much mass, man. The only thing that allowed me to be exciting was that I did it faster than the other guys,” Tyson told ‘Fight Camp’ in an interview three years ago.

Indeed, ‘Big’ George Foreman, as you can tell from his moniker and Tyson’s comments, was a pretty big guy. Like huge. The Olympic gold medallist was 6’4″, 260 pounds of pure meanness and nightmare in his prime. While that may not seem too big given the size of modern-day heavyweights, Foreman was pretty big for his time.

He knocked down Joe Frazier six times in the first two rounds of their 1973 clash. And Joe Frazier was one of the greatest to ever do it, who beat Muhammad Ali, whom many consider the GOAT in ‘The Greatest’s prime. Moreover, Foreman became heavyweight champion at the age of 45 and did it by knocking out Michael Moorer with a devastating right. What do you think about Chuck Liddell’s take on a fight between him and Mike Tyson?