UFC legend claims Mike Tyson is better than his best in one area ahead of Jake Paul fight

Tyson's old rivals Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis give him the chance to pull off an upset, but many people fear the 58-year-old could be seriously injured if he fights a much younger man.

“The Natural,” a former two-weight UFC champion who fought until he was 47, believes “Iron Mike,” although no longer in his prime fighting career, is more successful in one area than ever before .

Randy Couture previews Jake Paul and Mike Tyson

In an exclusive interview with BloodyElbow's James Sweetnam, Randy Couture spoke excitedly about Tyson's chances and highlighted an area in his life where the beloved knockout artist is better than when he was at the top.

“I mean, it’s interesting,” Couture said. “If you look at Tyson's training footage and have been with Tyson in the PFL and here in Las Vegas over the last few years, you can see that Mike Tyson is more calm, grounded and self-actualized at this stage of his life than even I thought at the time was at the peak of his boxing.

“His wife and everything that’s happening in his life are all positive. I think he is more grounded and in touch with himself than ever before. And physically he’s still very, very capable.”

Dillon Danis spread a rumor that the former Disney star did not include knockout clauses in his opponent's fight contract, but Paul has always denied this. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to convince everyone that he was telling the truth.

Couture fears Tyson will be at a disadvantage when he returns to the rings as a professional for the first time since 2005.

He added: “What intrigues me about this is whether there's a no-knockout clause in this contract.” That's the rumor that's going around, that Jake is overloading these contracts and distorting them a little bit.

“I don’t know why Mike would sign a contract like that. I mean, what was Mike known for? Blow guys away. If Jake Paul wants to compete and fight Mike Tyson, he can't include a clause like that. Let Mike do what Mike does and take care of it. That would be interesting for me.”

Randy Couture likes Jake Paul's combative approach to pay

Couture and Paul are both vocal when it comes to advocating for better pay and conditions for fighters.

“The Worry Child” famously feuded with Dana White over the controversial issue before signing a deal that will see him fight in MMA for the PFL in 2025.

Regardless of what he thinks of him as a fighter, Couture believes having someone like Paul associated with MMA will be good for the future of the sport.

He concluded: “Jake Paul is definitely getting on Dana White's nerves about fighter pay with all these crossover matches with Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren and Anderson Silva.”

“So many of these guys made way more money in these individual boxing matches than they ever did in MMA.

“If Jake Paul wants to bring these derogatory differences to light in our sport, then you have to get behind a guy like Jake Paul.”

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