Mike Tyson reveals the one reason why he will never fight in the UFC
Tyson is one of the greatest heavyweight boxers in history but has no plans to come out of retirement
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Mike Tyson has ruled out ever moving into mixed martial arts and stressed that the sport will never be as financially lucrative as boxing.
Tyson, 53, is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of boxing.
He became the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF belts and later became the lineal champion.
But Tyson has no interest in taking his skills into another sport.
“I don’t know, because they don’t make enough money in my perspective,” Tyson told Heavy. “It’s exciting and sexy, but [UFC fighters] don’t make enough money.”
“MMA will always have more views and stuff than boxing, but boxers will always make more money than MMA fighters.
“That’s tricky. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Tyson has been in a reflective mood recently and last week concerned his fans by admitting that he is “looking forward” to his own death.
“From my experience, from what I believe, the more I know about not existing, the more willing I am to die,” he told The Sportsman.
“Yeah [I look forward to it], I don’t fear it. Living might be more complicated than dying to me... because living takes a lot of courage.
“Without the courage, you can’t handle living. Living is a journey; living is a struggle. People have everything and they still can’t do it, they struggle.
“We take ourselves too seriously; we think we’re somebody. Who the f***, we’re nothing! We come from s***; we think we’re special [but] fame is s***.
“You find out you’re not [special]. You’re capable of going to jail, you’re capable of dying, you’re capable of being mistreated.
“I don’t really expect bad things to happen to me, but when they do happen to me, I understand it and I’m able to handle it. I’ve handled bad stuff before, that’s been my life. I don’t trip over bad things, I know s*** happens. When bad things happen, I will be still striving to do something. I won’t be discouraged.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments