Tyson vs Mirko

[Pit_bull]

ok, so we had the question about tyson vs sapp. How about mike tyson vs mirko filipovic?? Only hands, tyson would win. MMA, mirko would win. Your thoughts??

[Von Milash]

tyson in his prime could take any mma'er under any rules. He hit far too fast and far too hard. And even today, Tyson could still take nearly all heavyweight mma'ers if he wanted to get back to fighting. The guy was awesome.

Van will disagree. lol.

I was watching the last ufc in a bar and for once I heard a guy agree with me... it's easier to teach a sprawl than it is to teach boxing mastery.

[Munkymagic]

I disagree, i think tyson in his prime would get beaten by Mirko, as a matter of fact i think Tyson in his Prime would get beaten by someone like Melvin Manhoef (shoot me...go on do it). Great fists, but the kicks, tysons legs are not conditioned to take em. if its a boxing contest then sure but MMA is a different gravy. I think whoever fought him would clearly not bang with him and have a gameplan. Having said that tysons head movement was some of the best in the business but i eventually think he'd get worn down and nailed or taken to the ground and swiflty subbed.

Tyson was a fantastic fighter but he wasn't superhuman. His forte was only one fighting range, MMA covers all bases and the chances are he would be too inept at the other bases to defend against them.

[Pit_bull]

both great fighters, in something like UFC or cage rage where grappling is allowed, if tyson got down to the floor with a gracie, no chance, but then does anyone really on the floor. If tyson had learnt maybe a bit of vale tudo and ju jitsu he could havve been amazing.

[Von Milash]

yeah, but it's kinda tough to kick a guy in the leg when he's swarming and overwhelming you with power and speed.

no cc for you!

[VictorCharlie]

You know Tyson probably did miss his calling as a MMA fighter....I personally have always felt the guy is vastly overrated as a boxer, but with an all around training in MMA he would have been a Fedor like fighter. That being said my issue with boxers, w/little to no MMA training, in an MMA fight is why would an all around fighter choose to "box" with him. Also I simply don't see boxing and mma striking as the same thing. I look at it like a baseball pitcher and a softball pitcher. Some end result and concept but with some fundemental differences. There are techniques taught in boxing that work b/c you don't have to worry about kicks, fighting from the clinch and takedowns. A prime Tyson had awesome handspeed and power so in any fight it would make him dangerous, but if I'm a MMA fighter or hell just plain old me the one thing I'm not going to do is attempt to "box" or trade punches with him. And if I'm a world class kickboxer like Mirko I'm going to use a variety of leg kicks and clinch fighting to slow down and frustrate mike then put him away with the most devastating strike in MMA....CroCop's left high kick. I don't give Mike anything more than a punchers chance against any top MMA HW

[Von Milash]

Van, I'll give you Fedor and Mirko as a legit challenge to a prime tyson, but that's it. They are talented. But other than that, Tyson would rip their head off.

Frank Trigg once said that it would only take fedor a minute and a half or so to get tyson to the ground and beat him up, to which I ask, but how much damage could tyson have done in that minute and a half? Lots. 4oz gloves on a guy that hit like a mack truck with pinpoint precision. it would only take one, and you know he'd land it eventually. Like I said, it's tough to kick a guy when he's swarming you. And it's also hard to thai clinch a guy as he's breaking your ribs because his power is so awesome.

[Von Milash]

both great fighters, in something like UFC or cage rage where grappling is allowed, if tyson got down to the floor with a gracie, no chance, but then does anyone really on the floor. If tyson had learnt maybe a bit of vale tudo and ju jitsu he could havve been amazing.

a smart commisions would never allow gracie in with a tyson. tyson would kill royce, literally. he'd either hit him in the head so hard he'd concus or in the body so hard he's break his ribs and puncture his lungs. 4 oz gloves on tyson would have been a death wish for anyone willing to face him..

[Munkymagic]

Sorry Von, this whole 'swarming' thing doesn't cut it with me. I'd even go far as to say it would be pretty quick. Whoever was up against him would just fend and go in for the shoot. Tyson would have to be (IMO) pretty lucky to land a punch on the button as someone was coming in trying to take him down. He's not used to it...once he's down then he'd be like a lamb to the slaughter.

Knowing tyson, once he was down he'd probably realise this and bite a chunk out of the guys clavicle or something.

Hate to say this but i think even Royce Gracie circa 92-93 would have little trouble putting tyson away in less than 3 mins. All they would have to do is fend as the shoot came in, once he's within clinch/takedwon range its basically all over. Tyson would then resort to primal instinct and the streetfighter in him would take over.

He'd get Dqed or soundly handed his ass in an MMA match.

Now if tsyon cross trained...well, thats another story.

[Von Milash]

sorry pal.. you'll never convince me. this is why people bet.

[Brockton Bomber]

You know Tyson probably did miss his calling as a MMA fighter....I personally have always felt the guy is vastly overrated as a boxer, but with an all around training in MMA he would have been a Fedor like fighter. That being said my issue with boxers, w/little to no MMA training, in an MMA fight is why would an all around fighter choose to "box" with him. Also I simply don't see boxing and mma striking as the same thing. I look at it like a baseball pitcher and a softball pitcher. Some end result and concept but with some fundemental differences. There are techniques taught in boxing that work b/c you don't have to worry about kicks, fighting from the clinch and takedowns. A prime Tyson had awesome handspeed and power so in any fight it would make him dangerous, but if I'm a MMA fighter or hell just plain old me the one thing I'm not going to do is attempt to "box" or trade punches with him. And if I'm a world class kickboxer like Mirko I'm going to use a variety of leg kicks and clinch fighting to slow down and frustrate mike then put him away with the most devastating strike in MMA....CroCop's left high kick. I don't give Mike anything more than a punchers chance against any top MMA HW

Actually, he would have been nothing like a "Fedor type fighter". Tyson is a striker. Fedor is a ground fighter. He has decent power, but all of his strikes are geared to work with GNP. If anything, Tyson would have been more like Mirko. Also, if Tyson were in MMA, Mirko's LHK wouldn't be the most devastating strike in MMA.

Even with no cross-training, I'd pick Tyson over Mirko. With no training, I could even see him giving Fedor all kinds of trouble. Fedor is not trained to deal with strikes that powerful, in that kind of rapid succession. If he got Mike to the ground, that would be bad for Mikey, but here's the thing... Tyson at 5'11 and 220 was very compact, and IMO way more Explosive than Fedor, taught a simple sprawl, that's a hard man to take down.

[VictorCharlie]

I think you misunderstood me. Fedor is an all around fighter who is deadly in all facets of the MMA game. He combines a swarming standup game, great athleticism and toughnes with excellent grappling and submissions to be the P4P best. If Tyson were to have spent years training in sambo or something of the like then he too would combine great striking with a good ground game. There is more to takedown defense than just a good sprawl. I use sweeps tosses much more than single and double leg takedowns. While Ill agree that yes a prime tyson would bring a unique skill set not seen much in MMA he too would be facing fighters w/athleticism and skills that he as well has never faced. His skills asside Tyson is a weak minded individual who when forced to dig down suck it up would crumble much like he has in his boxing career. I still contend that being able to "box" well is not the same thing as being a great MMA striker. It is only b/c of Mike's handspeed and power that I'd even entertain him as a possible threat for any top mma HW. Furthermore we would have to wait and see how well mike himself handled being hit w/ 4oz gloves.

[Pit_bull]

i have a mixed view, Tyson's punches were devastating, but after doing lots of different martial arts, boxing, muay thai etc. ive noticed that when i get in a clinch with a boxer, they are not half as good as a muay thai fighter, they cant throw knees, elbows etc. (although elbows are banned now). I watched a programme where a guy could knee so hard he can push your chest in 2 inches and that is the power of something like a 35 mile an hour car . Tyson may be strong, but i dont think anyone can really take that. On the other hand Tyson was an inside fighter, so he may pull of what he did to frank bruno in the corner.

[Majesty]

If Kevin Randleman can get inside on Mirko then Tyson shouldn't have a problem. Mirko got leg kicks but he doesn't take pressure as well as people think, he likes to keep a distance and he has a good submission game, but Tyson would bullrush him from the word go and before Mirko could get a shot off Tyson would be on him, Tyson wouldn't just sprawl with no defense or form in his punches, he would and could beat Mirko. But if Tyson stayed at a distance where Mirko could pick him off then of course Crocop would win.

[VictorCharlie]

there is really no reason that an MMA fighter couldn't do exactly what Lewis/Holyfield/Douglass all did to Tyson. Simply tie him up on the inside. If these three boxers were able to tie him up and neutralize him while wearing boxing gloves on the inside than why couldn't a top MMA HW. Especially considering the amount of time they spend on muay thai and fighting from the clinch. Some day when the money is right maybe we will see a world class boxer get in against a top MMA and we will find out how they would fair. I still maintain that boxing's skill set although very helpful does not directly correlate to mma striking and that being one dimensional regardless of how dominant you are at that one dimension makes you very vulnerable in MMA