Mike Tyson hailed the UFC legend’s ‘killer aura’.
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Mike Tyson named the UFC fighter he sees himself in during the peak of his legendary boxing career.
Tyson enjoyed a storied career as a professional and at the height of his success, reigned over the heavyweight division.
He’s still the youngest boxer to win a world heavyweight title, claiming the WBC belt with a destructive performance over Trevor Berbick, aged 20 years, four months and 22 days.
He had a special aura and boasted a killer mentality inside the ring, stopping 44 opponents during his incredible career.
And ‘Iron’ Mike saw that version of himself in Ronda Rousey during her peak in the UFC.
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Like Tyson, Rousey had a level of invincibility and dominated her respective division during her prime.
She made six successful defences of the UFC women’s bantamweight title, destroying the likes of Miesha Tate, Sara McMann, Cat Zingano and Bethe Correia.
And ahead of her title defence against Correia, the boxing icon paid Rousey a visit at her training base in California.
The former world heavyweight champion joined UFC chief Dana White at Glendale Fighting Club as they watched ‘Rowdy’ go through her paces.
Tyson said: “Ronda, she’s a lady. Polite, kind, sweet and adorable. But her whole barometer is, she’s a killer. She has that killer aura, meaning anything is capable of happening. Whoa! That’s exciting before the fight even starts. I think of myself when I watch her.
“Listen, if you want to become anything close to being a god, the first thing you’ve got to know how to do is know how to decimate. If you’re a god, you have to know how to decimate, and that’s what she does. It would be very easy for her to have a big head, [to say,] ‘I can beat anybody in this world.’ I don’t know. Maybe she’s a likeness of a god.”
Mike Tyson meets Ronda Rousey during an open workout. Image: Getty
Rousey, who went onto stop Correia in just 34 seconds at UFC 190, was humbled by Tyson’s appearance ahead of her fight.
“It’s very humbling, and I was just honored that he would go through the trouble or go out of his way to watch me train,” she said.
“I’m really glad he was able to come, but it won’t be until after I beat Bethe and go home and go back to the hotel and look at myself in the mirror for the first time, like he was saying – that’s the moment it all hits you. He knows better than anyone what that moment is like.”
