The legendary Brazilian mixed martial artist Royce Gracie made a name for himself in 1993 by winning the UFC 1 tournament. With the help of Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills, he defeated much larger opponents, soon drastically changing the entire training system for MMA fighters.
But this Gracie was not enough. He wanted to be recognized worldwide as “the worst man on earth.” Therefore, he soon challenged the former heavyweight champion American Mike Tyson, who had just been released from prison (for a rape charge) and was preparing to resume his career.
The sportswriter says
writer Fiaz Rafik: “In the early 1990s, Tyson was challenged by Royce Gracie. The UFC champion accepted the fact that Tyson was the best current boxer in the world, but was categorically against considering Mike the best fighter in the world. Do you know everything about the Gracie family? They defeated different opponents with completely different styles even before the fighting octagon was invented. And Royce was not going to back down until he got a fight with a heavyweight boxing champion. He wanted to provoke him into a real fight. Consider a street fight without rules. Fight to the very end.
“In fact, Tyson was challenged not only by Royce Gracie, but also by his older brother Rickson. Gracie’s strategy for the fights was to level absolutely all the strongest sides of the opponent, not giving him a single chance. That is, without giving a chance even for lakipancha. He wasn’t the strongest physically, but he made up for it with incredible technique. He also defeated boxers – they only realized during the course of the battle that they had absolutely nothing to oppose. Royce told me: “There is only one way to define the most terrible person on earth. But, alas, Mike refused,” says Rafik.
According to the writer, in 1997, Gracie made a second attempt to challenge Tyson – the official challenge was published in a popular magazine. Men’s Health: “Everywhere. Whenever. No rules.” Rafik says that “According to Gracie, Tyson was ready to take on the challenge. But he was categorically forbidden – advisers, lawyers, boxing organizations and athletic commissions intervened. Why is that? Nobody wanted to lose boxing’s greatest star. But he really wanted to do it. I know for sure, since we talked with him on this topic. But everyone was afraid that his defeat would have a negative impact on boxing.”
By the way, do you know what problem 14-year-old Tyson had? Memoirs of a Curator. Not so long ago, Mike was offered a fistfight with the WWE champion, and another UFC legend claims: I would beat Tyson in a street fight.
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