Mike Tyson has declared Conor McGregor is in fact a "beautiful person", and that his brash persona around UFC events is simply a "gimmick".
The legendary former world heavyweight champion boxer has spent time with the two-weight UFC champion throughout his career, including multiple meetings at various events. Tyson was cageside for some of McGregor's famous world title fights, while the Irishman came to visit him while he was engaging in a speaking tour in the UK recently.
And while discussing the entertainment aspect of being a successful fighter, Tyson noted that McGregor had perfected the art of having a gimmick. He also encouraged others in the business to take note and come up with their own characters to help to sell themselves as entertainers.
“You have to have a gimmick," Tyson said during a recent episode of his Hotboxin' podcast. "It’s real, but it’s a gimmick. The only guys that have all the money have a gimmick. Look at Conor McGregor. He has a gimmick. He’s crazy, he’s bold, it’s a gimmick. In real life, he’s a beautiful guy."
Tyson was speaking with Mark Calaway, better known as WWE's The Undertaker, which is one of the most famous characters in all of entertainment. He drew huge crowds in professional wrestling; where bouts are pre-determined and staged, through his gimmick over the years retiring after decades of wrestling.
The boxer noted during the discussion that he had taken a lot from professional wrestling in terms of his own persona, to which Calaway responded that he had a pretty frightening persona in his own right. And his co-host Sebastian Joseph-Day joked that he wasn't sure if that was actually a gimmick or his true personality.
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Tyson also noted during the discussion that the UFC tends to hold more impressive events than boxing promoters, with the events becoming parties in between fights. “Boxing is not entertainment," he added. "The fighters entertain, but after one fight is over and there’s an intermission, nothing is happening, people are talking to each other.
"The UFC, when they have an intermission, it’s a party. Some people just go for the party, talk, do business. That’s why the UFC is more advanced than boxing. Boxers get paid more money, but the entity of the UFC is billions.”
McGregor is currently preparing for his comeback fight, and recently arrived in Las Vegas where he will coach season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter. He will take on Michael Chandler as a rival coach, before the pair meet later this year with September the likely timeframe for their pay-per-view bout.
