Mike Tyson is one of the greatest boxers of all time, and he also changed the landscape of MMA, with Dana White revealing the inspiration he took from watching one of the icon’s major bouts.
With blistering combinations and a fearsome aura, ‘Iron Mike’ has undeniably written his name in the combat sports history books.
Dana White based the commentary for UFC on a Mike Tyson fight
Before the UFC exploded on the global scene, boxing dominated the fighting world, with legends like Mike Tyson capturing the imagination of the public.
Therefore, when Dana White entered the game, he could look at the way other promotions worked and could make alterations for what he would eventually deem a superior product.
Something that really aggravated him was commentary, with the American once rendered furious by what the pundits were saying.
When Tyson made his major return to the sport against Francois Botha in 1999, White couldn’t believe the negative things that were being said about the icon.
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Thus, when he started crafting his commentary team for the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, he vowed to do things very differently.
On an episode of HotBoxin, with ‘Iron Mike’ himself, the businessman explained: “The way that the UFC production is built, was based off Mike Tyson’s walk-in to that DMX song, when he was coming back for the Francois Botha fight.
“Tyson’s walking into the fight, and I use this as an example all the time, I show people, they (the commentators) are sh**tting on Mike from the minute he starts walking in.
“I couldn’t f***ing stand listening to these clowns. I used to literally watch HBO Boxing and mute the commentary, because I couldn’t stand these f**ing guys.
“So, when we started building the commentary for the UFC, you don’t ever see the commentators s**t on the fighters.”
Joe Rogan made huge change to his podcast after scary interview with Mike Tyson
It looks like White isn’t the only person Tyson influenced, with Joe Rogan making massive alterations to his podcast after a terrifying sit-down with the power puncher.
While the formidable boxer is now mild-mannered and friendly, at the peak of his powers, he was a truly frightening individual, capable of knocking out anyone with one shot.
And in the build-up to his exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr, he flicked a switch, releasing the old Mike back into the public sphere.
During the interview, Rogan saw just how much of a savage the warrior can be, and realized he needed to make a change to the way he conducted his podcast.
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