Mike Tyson and Jake Paul faced heavy criticism following their highly anticipated fight on Friday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The bout, which aired exclusively on Netflix, was plagued by streaming issues and an underwhelming performance that disappointed many fans as the fight went the distance.
UFC CEO Dana White had expressed reservations about the event but chose not to dissuade his friend Tyson from participating. Reflecting on the fight, White commended Tyson for accurately assessing the matchup, predicting Paul would fail to knock him out despite the hype.
“I told him, ‘Mike, you’re basically 60 years old,’ and he’s like, ‘You honestly think this f—ing kid’s gonna do anything to me? He’s not good. He’s not gonna f—ing knock me out. He’s not gonna do this. You saw him. He tripped when he was walking down to the ring. He had a hard time walking up the stairs. He had a knee brace on, and Jake Paul still couldn’t do anything to him. He made a ton of money, and I know people are mad. You stayed home on a Friday night, but you didn’t pay for it, you know what I mean?’”
White further emphasized that Tyson’s presence guarantees profitability. He acknowledged Tyson’s savvy decision-making, even if the fight didn’t meet expectations.
“Jake Paul couldn’t do s— to him. So he was right, and I was wrong,” White admitted. “(Dave) Portnoy went out and said it was the greatest con job of all time. But if you didn’t think that’s the way the fight would go — I don’t know what people expected. Mike’s almost 60 years old. He’s Mike Tyson, but he’s 60, and he knew Jake Paul couldn’t do anything to him.”
Despite the controversy, the fight demonstrated Tyson’s enduring ability to captivate an audience and generate significant revenue.
