Chuck Liddell was undoubtedly one of the best Light heavyweights of his era. During his MMA career, the legendary athlete was able to beat big names like Randy Couture, Alistair Overeem, Wanderlei Silva, and Vitor Belfor and became one of the most recognizable MMA personalities in the world.
But while Liddell was sequestered to a relatively young sport in MMA – Mike Tyson was a global superstar.
Recently, Liddel revealed what would happen if he ever faced Mike Tyson in an “unsanctioned bout”.
“I’d win,” Liddell said. “I mean, he’s got a puncher’s chance. He’s got a chance to catch me coming in. But other than that, it’s over.”
Perhaps Tyson does not disagree with that statement. In an interview with GQ, Tyson jokingly explained why he would never face an MMA athlete in combat.
“I don’t know what I would do in the UFC, because I watched the UFC a couple of times, and I watched these guys step on people’s feet,” he hilariously explained.
“And I have the worst feet in the world, and if somebody stepped on my feet, I would totally tap out and just give up.”
“It would be a no-brainer.”
When Liddell became a UFC champion in 2005, Tyson had just retired from boxing.
Liddell’s last performance was a devastating knockout loss to Tito Ortiz in 2018. Meanwhile, Mike Tyson made a much-expected return to the rings in an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr in 2020.
More recently, Tyson did pummel a taunter on an airplane. However, given that he is 55-year-old, it is safe to assume that Tyson’s competition days are over.
While majority of MMA athletes would cross over into boxing – barely any boxers ever try mixed martial arts due to a financial disparity. James Toney is one of the only professional boxers to make it to the UFC. There he had only one out with a somewhat peculiar ending. More recently we unearthed a MMA bout featuring Dillian Whyte – former WBC heavyweight champion.