MMA Fantasy: What if Mike Tyson fought in UFC at his peak?

For years, many MMA fans have speculated what would have happened if Mike Tyson fought in the UFC during the peak of his boxing career. The former heavyweight boxing champion would have done well due to his knockout power, but it would depend on who the promotion matched him up with.

During the peak of his career, 'Iron' was one of the most feared fighters in boxing due to his quick and powerful knockouts over some of the sport's best. He was the youngest heavyweight boxing champion with amateur experience in both the Junior Olympics and Summer Olympics, and was a very athletic fighter.

According to Royce Gracie, 'Iron' wanted to compete at UFC 1, but his team convinced him to turn the offer down. At the time of the inaugural event, Tyson had a professional boxing record of 41-1, with his lone loss being an upset knockout against Buster Douglas.

Check out Mike Tyson's knockout over below:

Tweet regarding Tyson's win over Ruddock [Image courtesy: @BoxingHistory - X]

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What if Mike Tyson fought in the UFC at his peak?

Mike Tyson could have achieved a great deal of success in the UFC during his peak, but it would depend on whether he was matched up against another striker.

During the early years of the UFC, fighters were specialists in their respective forms of martial arts. With that in mind, it wouldn't be too far-fetched for Tyson to get a favorable matchup in order to maximize his star power and ability to sell pay-per-views. He would've definitely sparked mainstream interest, which could have resulted in the promotion booming ahead of schedule.

Despite his knockout power, he would have to humble himself and quickly learn Jiu Jitsu or wrestling if he wanted to be a more well-rounded fighter rather than one-dimensional. He would be at a disadvantage if the UFC were to match him up against an Olympic level wrestler like Dan Severn or grapplers like Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, who were well-versed with their submissions.

Check out Mike Tyson as a playable character in UFC 5 below:

Tweet regarding Tyson being a playable character in UFC 5 [Image courtesy: @MikeTyson - X]