Did UFC bribe Mike Tyson not to fight in Pride?

It was k-1 who was trying to deal with him,to fight Bob Sapp...and it fell through obviously...but UFC wouldnt give him money not to fight. Thats stupid.
It was both K-1 and after that Pride.
 
Wasn't he told he couldn't compete in Japan due to his convictions, I'm sure that's what happened.
I remember hearing something like that too. Im not sure if he was even allowed to go to Japan because of that. When he confronted Bob Sapp,i think that was one of their vegas shows.
 
Really wished we could've seen young Tyson fight a few times in the first few UFCs. Him, Foreman, and Karelin would've been a sight to see in the cage.
 
Really wished we could've seen young Tyson fight a few times in the first few UFCs. Him, Foreman, and Karelin would've been a sight to see in the cage.
Karelin fought 1 time in Rings....his fight is on youtube somewhere
 
Mike was never going to fight MMA, he signed to do publicity.

Someone said he would do "a series of boxing exhibitions against Pride fighters" but that obviously never happened.

Tyson went to a press conference (as I recall) for Pride back when they were setting things up to do their first American show, he was asked point blank if he would fight and he said no.

Sounds somewhat par for the course to me in terms of the shady shit that went on with Pride's owners/management.

But for what it's worth I would have LOVED to see Mike put on those blue gloves. He would have been dangerous in the cage and definitely could have won fights, especially with a little basic sprawl training.

(He was a street fighter before he was a boxer and he was built like a tank with a low center of gravity and he was willing to bite people.... the man was a fighter)

A level Olympic athlete
A level world champion pro boxer
Amazing footwork, head movement, defense, balance, strength, granite chin, genius level understanding of boxing fundamentals, technique and history
Unique "peek-a-boo" style (which Cus had also taught to Floyd Paterson)
Plenty of aggression
Well versed in fight camps, disciplined when he wanted to be.
One shot KO power in either hand
Could fight extremely well from either stance, used advanced footwork/shifting to close distance and open up power punches from a variety of angles
Maybe he had all that in his prime but by the time he would have got to Pride he lacked all of those things.
 
he didn’t sign it in “blood” like Sapp required
Yea because Sapp was actually addressing CM Punk and not Tyson. Because if you listen closely he says "hey, I'll sign it in blood Punk"

So he was referring to CM Punk.
 
Back in 2006./7. Mike Tyson had signed a deal with Pride for few fights...he was supposed to fight Cro Cop, Fedor, Hunt maybe etc...Back then Pride was in a trouble, we all know how and why...Is it possible that Dana and Fertittas bribed Tyson for not fighting...There was never any explanation as to where Tyson dissapeared...those fight could have saved Pride maybe, and the UFC saw their opportunity to overtake that nr 1 spot as a premier MMA promotion...it definitely sounds like something dirty buisnessman and italian mob would do.

"My fighting days are over, but I love and enjoy watching cagefighting, though," Tyson told Rutten.
Read more at http://www.extremeprosports.com/ful...tyson_pride_fighting.html#R5oozfZfEmylRGRf.99
 
Maybe he had all that in his prime but by the time he would have got to Pride he lacked all of those things.
I wish I could argue with you but yeah, you could tell the fire was out in his last few fights and with that went a good deal of his technique.

It's in the somewhere, but he would need to be hungry again and have the urge to prove something to himself or others...
 
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That makes no sense. Why wouldn't they just pay him to come fight in the UFC
 
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