Tyson was amazing, and there have been times when one-trick ponies have done well in the UFC, but they tend to be grapplers/wrestlers. The closest I can think of to a one-trick pony striker doing quite well in the UFC would be Francis Ngannou, and he was dealt with handily by Stipe Miocic, who you could argue is somewhat of a one-trick pony wrestler with decent striking.
In other words: grappling > striking in MMA. Generally speaking.
Not to say that Ngannou is a particularly refined striker, but he's obviously a genetically elite striker in terms of gifted punching power.
How would a 5'10.5" Tyson beat UFC heavyweights weighing 240- to 260-lb with a wide arsenal of other tools at their disposal?
Brock Lesnar wasn't just a fake wrestler in the WWE; he had an NCAA collegiate wrestling record of 106-5, and was the NCAA Division I All-American in both 1999 and 2000, as well as being the NCAA Division I heavyweight champion in 2000.
Lesnar also ate something like 63 solid shots to the face and head by Shane Carwin before Carwin punched himself out [and gave himself lactic acidosis as a result].
Lesnar would obviously wait for an opportunity to take Tyson down and even if Tyson threw an uppercut to stuff that take-down, is it really such a sure thing that Lesnar would get KO'd by that uppercut? Lesnar has a massive head and neck structure. He can take a punch by just about any human being alive, I would say. Maybe not EVERY shot by any human - but what are the odds that Tyson throws a knockout punch to stuff a take-down by Lesnar on the first try?
We're also talking about a considerable size discrepancy between these two elite champions. I do realize that Tyson knocked out many giant Hebrews in his day, but Lesnar would have around a 65-lb weight advantage and a 10" reach advantage. Tyson would need to considerably close the distance to be within striking range of Lesnar, giving Lesnar an opportunity to take him down in the process.
Before Lesnar entered the UFC, I had no doubt that Tyson would win an MMA or street fight match between the two. A friend of mine said he felt Lesnar would emerge victorious, and it just didn't make sense to me, given Tyson's professional record.
That was before Lesnar proved himself in the UFC. And I was also unaware of Lesnar's mind-boggling
106-5 collegiate wrestling background.And Lesnar competed in the heaviest weight class. We're not talking the manlet division here.
If striking was such a vital skill to have in MMA, how come we haven't seen many pure strikers reign victorious, compared to wrestlers or Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners?
Tyson was amazing - I've literally never seen another boxer with his refined striking, and - even more impressive to me - refined and straight up incredible head movement. When I watch Deontay Wilder Box, it literally looks about as refined as Joey Fatone in this N'SYNC music video [and I'm not kidding]:
I honestly think Mark Wahlberg AT 19 YEARS OLD demonstrates more refined striking than both Deontay Wilder AND EVEN TYSON FURY in his Good Vibrations video:
The thing is - I'm not even kidding.
It's like what pellius said - Tyson Fury, as amazing as he is on paper, just doesn't look all that technical when he fights. Deontay Wilder even less so.
All I'm seeing are two big guys throwing hands.
It's like these guys are all height and size/reach. Genetic freaks who are punching, basically. I mean...if an 10 foot human who weighed 500-lb was knocking people out cold...that would be impressive...but...well.
..expected too.
Watching the Holyfield vs. Tyson 2 fight is literally like watching a live action work of art. I'm astounded at the level of technical striking from both fighters in that fight [obviously ignoring Tyson's biting of Holyfield's ears, which was classless on his part, but I now realize that Holyfield's headbutt frustrated him].
^ tl;dr
I just don't quite understand how anyone would be so extremely confident to think a pure boxer with no martial arts training could possibly take on an elite wrestler who outweighs him by at least 65-lb, is considerably stronger [Lesnar benches something like 475-lb, and has a LONG reach of 81"], and is at least somewhat well-rounded in MMA with a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, among other martial arts training, and was undefeated in the UFC for over two years, and was just 23 days shy of being the UFC heavyweight champion for two years - a record which stood for over
four years until Cain Velasquez beat it in 2014.
Lesnar was no joke, and for some reason [I think possibly because of his history with the WWE], some people still look at him as a fake wrestler.
Lesnar was and is the genuine article.
I will say - ok, fine - Lesnar was a one-trick pony. But when your one trick is being an
NCAA Division I heavyweight champion who bench presses 475-lb [who basically has the strength to do well in state powerlifting contests], and has decent Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I think it's safe to say that Lesnar is going to do well against pretty well any pure boxer.
Mike Tyson is amazing - I'm taking nothing away from him. But even a boxer as amazing as him - and I'll go on record and say that Tyson may well be the best boxer in the history of the sport - I think would have a lot of trouble with Brock Lesnar.
I think Lesnar could take Tyson down, even if it meant eating a massive uppercut or punch to the chest on the way down. From there, it would depend on whether or not Lesnar could hold Tyson down, but given that Lesnar has held down much larger and heavier men with much more experience escaping from the bottom position after a take-down, I just don't see how Tyson would have an easy time getting the fight standing again.
But hey - I've said it before: I'm an MMA/UFC fan, and not much of a boxing fan. I only really watch the big fights, if any at all. In fact, I didn't even watch the recent Tyson Fury/Deontay Wilder bout.
I must say - I am a bit surprised at how many Getbiggers think Tyson would make such quick work out of Lesnar; as if an world class boxer fighting an MMA fighter with world class wrestling would be some easy feat. I'm just not seeing that. And I'd be the first to say that Tyson is amazing, if not straight up the best ever.
Oh. And I also find people act as if retired boxers are comparable to their previous selves - I highly doubt Tyson is even 70% of what he once was. He may only be 50% of what he once was.
I can train for my lightweight strongman contests and get my bench and deadlift [in the gym] up to close to 350 and 500. But if I go six months without deadlifting, I find myself struggling to pull 405. Yeah, it comes back fast - but my point is: if I can lose 20% or more in my sport, why wouldn't the same apply to combat fighters?
My Lesnar vs. Tyson discussion above was with both at their respective primes of course, but IMO, 2020 Georges St-Pierre chokes 2020 Mike Tyson out within three minutes.
It must be nice to be a retired fighter, completely out of shape, with people still thinking you could be a killer in the ring when there are literally college local level boxers who could beat you, lol.
