UFC Hall of Famer says Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson ‘should not be going ahead’ after latest medical scare
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping insists that the upcoming fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul should not go ahead after the boxing legend suffered a medical scare earlier this week.
On May 26, the 57-year-old suffered an ulcer flare-up during a flight from Miami to Los Angeles and required medical assistance after feeling ‘nauseous and dizzy 30 minutes before landing.’
Reacting to the health scare and the fight on his YouTube channel, Bisping noted that the phrase ‘there is no such thing as bad press’ does not apply to this buildup.
‘Mike Tyson was involved in a medical emergency, paramedics had to be rushed onto the plane, the doctors had to come on to take Mike Tyson off the plane: It’s not a good look,’ Bisping said.
‘This is not good press when you are trying to promote a fight when you are 58 years old.’
Paul and Tyson will meet in the ring on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event will be the first boxing match to air live on Netflix as the streaming platform continues to grow its sports library.
After Tyson’s health scare led to speculations of the fight’s cancellation, Paul responded online and said ‘nothing [has] changed.’
While noting his respect for the combat sports icon, the former UFC middleweight champion was critical of the fight playing on despite the massive mismatch coming from their 30-year age gap.
‘I respect him – this is taking massive balls to go in there against Jake Paul,’ Bisping said. ‘Now listen, maybe it was an ulcer flare-up, I don’t know anything about ulcers, but what I do know is that the man is going to be 58 years old – a man in the prime of his life doesn’t have a problem sitting on a plane for a few hours.’
The Count emphasized how the circumstances present a bad look for boxing and Paul, saying: ‘This is just a great example of why a fight like this should not be going ahead.’
‘I’m not talking s*** about Mike Tyson. He wants to test the waters, he wants to make some money and feel alive, and he wants to do what he does best. But that time has passed, that ship has sailed, that plane has left the runway – but not for a while because it was hot on the plane, and then Mike Tyson got an ulcer flare-up.’
‘I think the man is pushing 60 and he’s got some medical problems; maybe he just had a bit of food poisoning or had some food that just didn’t agree with him, but what we do know is that he was carted off the plan by a paramedic and they did ask for medical assistance. That’s not a good look.’
With the fight getting sanctioned as a professional bout, Bisping slammed Paul for picking a fight with someone 30 years his senior.
While in his prime, Tyson was one of the best boxers to grace the ring. Iron Mike amassed a 50-6 record with 44 knockouts. After losing his last two professional fights, Tyson called it a career in 2005. He then returned to action in an exhibition against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr. in 2020 but has not competed since.
On the other hand, Paul holds a 9-1 record from mostly fighting YouTubers and professional fighters way past their primes. Paul holds wins over Tyson Woodley, Ben Askren, Nate Diaz, and Anderson Silva. His only loss came when he fought Tommy Fury in 2023.
‘Jake Paul’s in the prime of his life and he’s just cherry-picking another opponent to bolster his resume to make himself look good,’ Bisping said. ‘It’s absolutely embarrassing, it’s a shame, it’s a sham, it’s utter horses***.’
