Rafael Cordeiro, one of the most legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) coaches of all time, has the opportunity to train Mike Tyson ahead of his return fight against Roy Jones Jr. this November.
Cordeiro has trained some of the biggest names in MMA history such as Fabricio Werdum, Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Lyoto Machida, and Rafael dos Anjos. Speaking to MMA Junkie, the Kings MMA founder and head coach reflected on having spent the past five months training the 54-year-old Tyson for this November.
“My heart was like, ‘My Lord,’ man,” Cordeiro said. “When I held mitts for Mike Tyson, I didn’t know what to expect for a lot of reasons.”
Tyson and Jones Jr. will headline the “Frontline Battle” pay-per-view (PPV) on November 28 in an eight-round exhibition. It will be Tyson’s first fight since 2005, when he walked away from the sport after back-to-back stoppage losses. For Cordeiro to be a part of this historic journey has been surreal for him. In fact, he claims he has learned more from the experience than he has taught.
“I was there and then he came like ‘Let’s do it,’ and I wrapped his hands and it was great to see the pure techniques,” Cordeiro said. “Everything you’ve seen on TV, I have an opportunity to see in front of me and it was great to see one of the best of all time in front of me show his skills, and I learned a lot.
“We worked together for five months, and I can tell all the time that I went there, I learned more than I taught because this guy is the history of the fight. When he talks about fights, he talks with feelings. … He lives for fights.”
