# Tyson in his prime in MMA



## MMAnWEED (Aug 8, 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCSR7H98Mss&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_fresh+div-1r-13-HM

Now With The Toney vs. Couture fight coming up i thought it would be interesting to get your guys opinion on how Mike Tyson in his prime would do in MMA. James Toney is one hell of a boxer but I dont think he quite compares to Tyson. With Tyson's devastating knockout power, is it fair to say a guy being so good at one aspect of MMA would do well in lets say the UFC? Now typically any other boxer wouldn't stand a chance but in my opinion Tyson is so explosive and powerful he would be able to knock people out on his BACK.


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## Guy Incognito (Apr 3, 2010)

it's been done to death dude.......to death.


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## MMAnWEED (Aug 8, 2010)

guy incognito said:


> it's been done to death dude.......to death.


Bringing it back due to UFC 118 this sat


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## AceCombat (Mar 6, 2007)

> James Toney is one hell of a boxer but I dont think he quite compares to Tyson.


Tyson was the Heavyweight Champion when Boxing was the most famous it ever was and unfortunately, this embellishes (often inadvertantly) his credentials and skills as a boxer.

Tyson, although explosive and very powerful, is not nearly as skilled of a boxer as Toney is.

As a matter of fact, Toney would outwork Tyson, land more all purpose strikes, and utilize supreme footwork to frustrate Tyson and make him predictable (it would be a boring fight). I pick Toney over Tyson 8/10 times.

Now Hopkins on the other hand, a very smart fighter, methodical, tactical, with excellent conditioning; his length and reach probably wouldn't hurt either.

Although his attitude isn't always the greatest, I think a younger Hopkins would have more potential than the likes of Tyson or Toney.


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## Guy Incognito (Apr 3, 2010)

MMAnWEED said:


> Bringing it back due to UFC 118 *this sat*



Damn it has came along quick, as well as the silva/sonnen fight


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## evzbc (Oct 11, 2006)

^^^ eff that. Tyson was a BAD dude. There was something missing upstairs and boy could he punch.

He never played safe, he was like a shark, and I don't think people in MMA have screws missing like that as much anymore.

A Tyson doesn't come along very often. Sure people eventually figure it out. But they're way ahead of their time!


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## No_Mercy (Oct 17, 2006)

What you guys don't understand is that his trainer Cus D'Amato molded Tyson into the youngest champion he was. His career gradually declined once he passed on. Cus instilled discipline into his training. He had raw talent and could have been one of the best champs. No way he would have lost to Buster. Imagine how things would have unravelled; Evander and eventually Lennox. 

As much as it's a different sport, Tyson would have done well in K-1, but not so much in UFC unless it was against another striker. Definitely would have blasted Bob Sapp...lolz. 

I don't think Toney could keep up with Tyson's speed, defense, head movement and power. Watch...


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## Ground'N'Pound5 (Aug 7, 2009)

idk bout MMA, he would seem to suite K-1 for a while then hit MMA like Cro Cop

im not sure either how he would fare against kickboxers


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## Trix (Dec 15, 2009)




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## The Lone Wolf (Sep 23, 2008)

No_Mercy said:


> What you guys don't understand is that his trainer *Cus D'Amato molded Tyson into the youngest champion he was. His career gradually declined once he passed on.* Cus instilled discipline into his training. He had raw talent and could have been one of the best champs. No way he would have lost to Buster. Imagine how things would have unravelled; Evander and eventually Lennox.
> 
> As much as it's a different sport, Tyson would have done well in K-1, but not so much in UFC unless it was against another striker. Definitely would have blasted Bob Sapp...lolz.
> 
> I don't think Toney could keep up with Tyson's speed, defense, head movement and power. Watch...


Thats not true dude. Tysons trainer died before Tyson ever became Champ.


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## Soojooko (Jun 4, 2009)

AceCombat said:


> Tyson was the Heavyweight Champion when Boxing was the most famous it ever was and unfortunately, this embellishes (often inadvertantly) his credentials and skills as a boxer.
> 
> Tyson, although explosive and very powerful, is not nearly as skilled of a boxer as Toney is.
> 
> ...


I absolutely cant disagree with a post any more than this one! Tyson was awesome in all aspects of boxing. This idea that he was all about power and speed is false. He had fecking brilliant head and foot movement. His defence was a lot better than most think. Forget his unravelling after Cus died. That doesn't mean a thing. When Tyson was on it, he was a god. Period. He would absolutely crush Hopkins and Toney. No doubt about that in my mind.


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## Black_S15 (Jul 14, 2010)

AceCombat said:


> Tyson was the Heavyweight Champion when Boxing was the most famous it ever was and unfortunately, this embellishes (often inadvertantly) his credentials and skills as a boxer.
> 
> Tyson, although explosive and very powerful, is not nearly as skilled of a boxer as Toney is.
> 
> ...


wow. you clearly have no clue do you. had you of watched any of Mike Tysons Fights in his prime you would know Toney would get destroyed. putting aside his personal life, tyson was one of greatest and definitely most powerfull heavyweights of all time.


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## Vale_Tudo (Nov 18, 2007)

AceCombat said:


> As a matter of fact, Toney would outwork Tyson, land more all purpose strikes, and utilize supreme footwork to frustrate Tyson and make him predictable (it would be a boring fight). I pick Toney over Tyson 8/10 times.


Now, Im not some Boxing expert or even that big of a fan anymore, but seriously? I guess everyone's entitled to their opinion, but I'd pick Tyson by bloody murder 10/10 times


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## Dream-On-101 (Jun 4, 2009)

There is no doubt in my mind that Tyson would destroy James Toney in his prime. At his best, he had no equals. 

A flawed genius.


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## No_Mercy (Oct 17, 2006)

The Lone Wolf said:


> Thats not true dude. Tysons trainer died before Tyson ever became Champ.


That's correct, but he molded him into becoming the champ he became. I've read his book a while back called "Bad Intentions," and watched his latest documentary. 

Cus D'Amato:
He took Tyson under his wing and adopted him after Tyson's mother died, and trained him over the next few years, teaching him all the techniques and movements a stocky heavyweight could use. Despite Tyson's small size he soon became a superb heavyweight contender. D'Amato was assisted by Teddy Atlas, who later became a respected trainer himself and later Kevin Rooney. *D'Amato died shortly before Tyson became the youngest world heavyweight titleholder in history.*

Footage of D'Amato can be seen in Tyson (film), a documentary about Tyson, who in extended interviews *credits D'Amato with turning his life around*. *D'Amato also encouraged Tyson to use the peek-a-boo approach style of boxing, where the hands are placed in front of the boxers face for more protection.*




Soojooko said:


> I absolutely cant disagree with a post any more than this one! Tyson was awesome in all aspects of boxing. This idea that he was all about power and speed is false. He had fecking brilliant head and foot movement. His defence was a lot better than most think. Forget his unravelling after Cus died. That doesn't mean a thing. When Tyson was on it, he was a god. Period. He would absolutely crush Hopkins and Toney. No doubt about that in my mind.


My analysis is simple. Had Cus been around Tyson would have gone down as one of the top 10's. He was ranked a lot lower than expected because of his downward spiral after the Buster loss and poor management from Don King. That's what's wrong with boxing. People like DK who care nothing about the sport, but fattening their wallets. 

It's only fitting that boxing is beginning to slowly fade out.

Long live "IRON MIKE!"


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## fullcontact (Sep 16, 2006)

MMAnWEED said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCSR7H98Mss&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_fresh+div-1r-13-HM
> 
> Now With The Toney vs. Couture fight coming up i thought it would be interesting to get your guys opinion on how Mike Tyson in his prime would do in MMA. James Toney is one hell of a boxer but I dont think he quite compares to Tyson. With Tyson's devastating knockout power, is it fair to say a guy being so good at one aspect of MMA would do well in lets say the UFC? Now typically any other boxer wouldn't stand a chance but in my opinion Tyson is so explosive and powerful he would be able to knock people out on his BACK.


If a prime Mike Tyson learned a good sprawl and along with disciplined submission defence, he would do exellent! His style of blocking did not only consist of parrying with the big gloves, but a lot with head and body movement. This would be quite effective in MMA. Tyson with 4 ounce gloves on is a scary thought...

His powerful boxing style would translate better into MMA than a Larry Holmes fx, the same way Mirko Cro Cop's style translates better into MMA than Peter Aerts.


About Tyson's decline. It started to happen, when the good people around him left him.
Tyson's was an exellent specimen, but mentally weak. He needed good role models, good pep talks, positive influence in is daily life. A Cus D'Amato, but also, Terry Atlas, Kevin Rooney and a few others. These surroundings were gradually replaced by Rubin Givens, Don King and a hopless trainer.


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## creepjacker (Jul 19, 2009)

Tyson was an absolute monster in his prime. The rest of his "class" didn't even stand a chance until after he fell off. When Tyson has his head in the game, I truly believe there have been very few boxers in the history of the sport that could even legitimately compete on his level. The combination of his speed, power and feet/ head movement was insane. I just cant think of anyone that was more dominant in their prime.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

Yeah at one point there were talks about him participating in PRIDE and K-1, but due to visa issues that didn't happen!


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## IronMan (May 15, 2006)

MMAnWEED said:


> Now With The Toney vs. Couture fight coming up i thought it would be interesting to get your guys opinion on how Mike Tyson in his prime would do in MMA. James Toney is one hell of a boxer but I dont think he quite compares to Tyson. With Tyson's devastating knockout power, is it fair to say a guy being so good at one aspect of MMA would do well in lets say the UFC? Now typically any other boxer wouldn't stand a chance but in my opinion Tyson is so explosive and powerful he would be able to knock people out on his BACK.


Actually, this is a conversation I have pretty regularly with a lot of my friends who are big boxing fans. I think that, of all of the great professional boxers, Tyson is the one that's most interesting in terms of MMA.

This is a guy with big, powerful legs, great quickness, athleticism, evasiveness and explosiveness. He's everything that a coach wants in an up-and-coming fighter. Apart from the fact that he may be the greatest boxer in the history of the modern pugilism, his style is awesome for MMA.

People talk about how much the power of Brock Lesnar or Shane Carwin plays into his ability to be effective in the standup. Well, this is a guy with that power, and that same athletic quickness of Lesnar or even a Dos Santos, and *much* better head movement.

Now, if he was a young guy, if he could still learn to fight off of his back, he'd be great. But you have to operate from the assumption that he would attempt to cultivate a ground game and some wrestling.

If you take Mike Tyson's boxing and give him the jiu-jitsu or wrestling even of a mediocre grappler who can just stay alive on the ground, he could be absolutely devastating. With his athleticism, though, one wonders how easy it would be for him to pick up that game.

Still, to say a young Tyson would have been an interesting prospect is absolutely right. If he had a wresting game that was substantial, he could be for MMA ten time what Chuck Liddell was, purely on the basis of his being faster and more explosive. If he developed that takedown defense, he'd be one of those great fighters.

But MMA is a tricky sport to call, because until you see how a game progresses you can't look at it in the context of matchups. If Tyson had the takedown defense of a Chuck Liddell, the best matchup for dealing with him would be radically different than if he dedicated his time to working his guard. It's hard to say where he'd fit in the current heavyweight division except to waste time stating the obvious, which is this: If Mike Tyson fought in MMA, he would have the best hands of any fighter in the history of the sport.

And, in case it's not obvious to you, that's because Mike Tyson (in many estimations) has the best hands in the history of pugilism.


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## mastodon2222 (Feb 4, 2010)

Soojooko said:


> I absolutely cant disagree with a post any more than this one! Tyson was awesome in all aspects of boxing. This idea that he was all about power and speed is false. He had fecking brilliant head and foot movement. His defence was a lot better than most think. Forget his unravelling after Cus died. That doesn't mean a thing. When Tyson was on it, he was a god. Period. He would absolutely crush Hopkins and Toney. No doubt about that in my mind.


I second that. Tyson >>> Toney, in every aspect. For starters, Toney is only 5'9" and started his career at 168lbs. and is a fat lightheavy. Tyson was knocking out the big boys (6'4" 250lbs) since he was 19. No contest. Mike would still get smashed into the cage and taken down for a beatdown in MMA, though. If he'd trained MMA since he was a youngster? Different story altogether.


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## MMAnWEED (Aug 8, 2010)

IronMan said:


> Actually, this is a conversation I have pretty regularly with a lot of my friends who are big boxing fans. I think that, of all of the great professional boxers, Tyson is the one that's most interesting in terms of MMA.
> 
> This is a guy with big, powerful legs, great quickness, athleticism, evasiveness and explosiveness. He's everything that a coach wants in an up-and-coming fighter. Apart from the fact that he may be the greatest boxer in the history of the modern pugilism, his style is awesome for MMA.
> 
> ...


Absolutely man. Tyson is a rare example of explosiveness which is key in Mixed Martial Arts. If he were to even become a blue belt in jiu jitsu and develop good takedown defense, Its hard to see someone beat a riled up Mike Tyson.


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## swpthleg (Dec 31, 2006)

Between this thread and Dana fawning over Mike in the other thread, I see where this is going.

I haven't been so enthused about something that is probably never going to happen since the Fedor v Randy talk started.


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## kantowrestler (Jun 6, 2009)

Yeah that is one match that will only happen in the EASports MMA game!


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## wormathletics (Aug 16, 2010)

AceCombat said:


> Tyson was the Heavyweight Champion when Boxing was the most famous it ever was and unfortunately, this embellishes (often inadvertantly) his credentials and skills as a boxer.
> 
> Tyson, although explosive and very powerful, is not nearly as skilled of a boxer as Toney is.
> 
> ...


I disagree with you. I think because of all the hoopla surrounding Tyson's life after he became heavy weight champion many people forget his boxing skills. He had good fundamentals and good skills but he rarely got to show it because of his power. If you want to see a glimpse of how good he was go back and watch some of his early fights before he became champion. What you will see is a boxer with good head movement, body movement, foot work, being able to switch and use either hand.. and if you've ever seen him train...he was a beast in the gym.


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## 4u2nv (Apr 11, 2008)

swpthleg said:


> Between this thread and Dana fawning over Mike in the other thread, I see where this is going.
> 
> I haven't been so enthused about something that is probably never going to happen since the Fedor v Randy talk started.


I second that, even though Silva vs GSP is good too. 
Umm @ Acecombat or whatever. Please youtube Tyson and then Toney and tell me who u and 5 friends would not want to be in a dark alley with.
I'd fight Toney even though I'd get destroyed, but Tyson I would never.


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## Danm2501 (Jun 22, 2009)

One thing to consider with Tyson also is that he was a student of the Boxing game. He used to watch tape after tape picking up technical tips, breaking down fights and learning about the sport outside training. If he had adapted that to MMA and trained for even a year I have no doubt he'd have been one of the best in the world.


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## BigDeadFreak (Jun 9, 2010)

I thin discussions like this are what MMA is all about: 'what if..?'

I would love to have seen Tyson in MMA. He is surely the hardest puncher of all time and yet he moved with the speed of a fighter 2 or 3 stone lighter. The quality of opposition in his early fights might have been questionable but the devastation he inflicted upon them was not. 

I think it's pretty obvious that anyone in the UFC could kick all our asses but would any of them frighten us as much as Tyson?


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## LuckyPunch (Aug 31, 2010)

He would end up like Toney. Period.


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