Heading into the event on November 15, Dana White and many others were disgusted that Mike Tyson was being allowed to fight Jake Paul—a man 31 years his younger.
‘The Problem Child’ has managed to carve a career out for himself by carefully picking opponents that favor him at each given moment. At almost 60, the general consensus believed Tyson was going to be on the receiving end of a violent knockout, and White was among that group of people.
Now, days after the fight, Dana White has spoken out and admitted that Mike Tyson was right about his fight against Jake Paul.
“Mike Tyson was right and I was wrong,” White said in the aftermath of the Paul vs. Tyson clash.Â
Despite his accomplished history in the ring, this isn’t the first time White has been worried for Tyson’s health.
“I begged him not to do the Roy Jones fight, ‘You’re too old, I love you, I don’t want to see you take any more punishment.'”
Related: Jake Paul discloses why he didn’t knock out Mike Tyson
After earlier doubting him, the UFC CEO confirmed that Tyson’s assessment of the Jake Paul fight was correct.
“I told him, ‘ Mike, you’re basically 60 years old.’ And he’s like, ‘You honestly think this kid’s going to do anything to me? He’s not good, he’s not going to knock me out.'”
“And you saw him, he tripped when he was walking [towards the ring], he had a hard time walking up the stairs, he had a knee brace on, and Jake Paul couldn’t do anything to him.”
“He made a ton of money. I know people are mad, you stayed home on a [Friday] night but you didn’t pay for it.”
“When Mike Tyson shows up, everybody makes money… Mike Tyson is the A+ side of that thing. And he was right, Jake Paul couldn’t do sh*t to him.”