Dana White Admits He Was Wrong About Mike Tyson’s Comeback Fight

Looks like Mike Tyson had the last laugh after all. The legendary former heavyweight champ stepped back into the ring at 58 years old and took on social media star-turned-boxer Jake Paul in an eight-round main event on Netflix. And while the bout wasn’t a high-octane slugfest, Tyson walked away unscathed, proving a certain UFC boss wrong in the process.

Dana White, the UFC CEO, had serious reservations about Tyson fighting at his age. “I told him ‘Mike, you’re basically 60 years old,'” White confessed during the UFC 309 post-fight presser. But Tyson wasn’t having it. “‘You honestly think this fcking kid’s going to do anything to me? He’s not good. He’s not going to fcking knock me out,'” Tyson reportedly fired back.

In the end, Tyson proved he knew best. Despite an initial scare—tripping on his way to the ring and needing a knee brace—the former champ avoided any knockdowns and didn’t take significant damage. “Jake Paul couldn’t do anything to him,” White said. “He was right, and I was wrong.”

Jake Paul had his own take on why he didn’t go full throttle for a knockout. The influencer claimed he held back, not wanting to “hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.” But White’s not exactly buying that. What he is buying, though, is the fact that Tyson left the ring without a mark.

White didn’t hold back on his feelings about the fight’s predictability: “If you didn’t think that’s the way the fight [was going to play out], I don’t know what people expected. Mike’s almost 60 years old.” He doubled down, adding, “It was f*cking free. We’ve all got Netflix anyways.”

Despite the mixed reactions and some fans calling it a “bit of a sh*t show,” White stood by the numbers, which speak for themselves. Netflix reported a whopping 60 million households tuned in for Paul vs. Tyson, with 50 million more catching the co-main event featuring Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor.

So, was it the fight of the century? Hardly. But was it worth the free watch on a Friday night? Dana White sure seems to think so. “You got exactly what you thought you were going to get,” he said.