A prime Mike Tyson would have been as big a superstar in MMA had he chosen to compete in that fighting discipline, rather than box.
That’s according to Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison, who said when athletes are as determined and as skilled as he is, they find a way to succeed in whatever their chosen field is.
“I think he would have been a superstar,” Harrison told Insider ahead of her return to fighting at PFL 3, the promotion’s third show of its 2021 season.
The nine-bout fight card, which will be held at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, is part of PFL’s return to live events following a one-year pandemic-enforced hiatus in 2020.
Harrison is already 8-0 (three knockouts, three submissions, and two decisions) as a pro fighter, having won four bouts in the 2019 season, winning the PFL finals, and taking home a $1 million prize.
She was awarded the winner’s check by PFL CEO Peter Murray and the former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson, who she went on to meet another time when she appeared on his popular “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson” podcast.
“To spend time and share time with a true … he’s a living legend, it was a humbling experience,” Harrison said.
She told us that she doesn’t get excited about celebrity culture often, but was taken aback when she sat with him, heard his philosophies, and talked one-on-one about life.
“We went pretty deep, which I wasn’t expecting. I learned so much — it was awesome.”
On how Tyson could have fared had he competed in his prime in a cage rather than a ring, Harrison said: “There are certain people in life who are successful no matter what they do and when you meet them, you know.
“Tyson is no different. If he’d been a tennis player, he’d have been the best in the world — that’s my firm belief.”
Harrison has already lived one wildly successful career as a former two-time Olympic gold medal-winning judoka. Now she’s in the midst of another successful career as a one-time PFL queen, and is ready to defend her throne.
“We’re cut from the same cloth,” she said of Tyson regarding that ability to succeed in a number of sporting fields.
“I don’t want to sound cocky, but I do believe that. Your mindset is a powerful thing and every great champion I know has come from tough times and a lot of obstacles.
“That mental toughness, and that drive from within, it can’t be satiated or stopped.
“So I’m no different in the sense that judo just happened to be what I did. If I joined the tennis team, the championship mindset is that you find a way [to win].”
