Most people think that Jake Paul fighting Mike Tyson earlier this month was a disgrace. After all, Tyson was 58 and known to be suffering from a bevy of health issues. This is why their fight went how most expected- uncompetitive. Father time, in the end, is still undefeated and undisputed. But on the other hand, there were good reasons for Tyson to fight Paul. And the most prominent one was in the neighborhood of twenty million dollars. Fighters, after all, spend their entire professional lives dedicated to one thing, and when that thing is taken away, they struggle to earn money.
While Tyson, being one of the biggest names in boxing even today, can earn a good paycheck without many issues, most fighters are not that lucky and don’t have any way to make the kind of money they get while fighting. This is why you see many former UFC legends try their hands at boxing or bare-knuckle, or even fight in lesser MMA promotions until they literally can’t.
This is why UFC veteran Matt Brown’s advice in our ES Exclusive interview with Andrew Whitelaw is so pertinent. On being asked his thoughts about the Tyson-Paul fight, and if he is in favor of a ‘Masters Grand Prix’ for retired MMA fighters, this is what ‘The Immortal’ had to say.
“A lot of people talk about this, a lot of people bring that up. It’s unfortunate, you know, there are instances like Tyson where he made a lot of money and probably blew a lot of money, but he’s doing well. Like he shouldn’t be fighting, you know. There’s just a point of diminishing returns. it doesn’t matter who you’re fighting it doesn’t matter if you’re fighting a guy, you just shouldn’t be doing it,” he said.
Do you agree with Matt Brown's stance that retired fighters like Mike Tyson should focus on life beyond the ring instead of continuing to fight?
Instead, Brown feels that fighters should develop some other skills or at the very least plan for their post-fighting career. Fans will remember Dana White’s often-repeated advice to his fighters that combat will be a small part of their lives, and they should have some other way to earn money after they hang it up. Well, the former welterweight contender seems to agree wholeheartedly with this.
“Like there’s other things to do in life and that’s why I’ve always made it a priority in my life to be a well-rounded person and not just be a fighter. I think it’s important and, you know, whatever you’re doing right, you can’t just be one thing. You have to have some variety, man. You got to have options… and got to be multifaceted,” he added. There is, however, the other side of the coin to consider, exemplified by Conor McGregor.
Matt Brown believes ‘multifaceted’ Conor McGregor will never fight in the UFC again
Matt Brown is sure Conor McGregor is never coming back to the octagon. Why? Well here too, Brown seems to agree with Dana White. The UFC CEO, of course, almost always says when asked about ‘Mac’s comeback that the Irishman has made too much money. This, in turn, wouldn’t compel him to put in the hard work, stay disciplined, go through a full camp, and fight again.
Brown agrees, telling us in the Exclusive ES interview “I don’t think Conor’s gonna fight again.” Then why is McGregor seemingly so loud and insistent that he does want to come back, even throwing out names he would like to fight? Well, that, according to ‘The Immortal’ is because he likes the attention.
“I think he likes being in the news. I think he likes being relevant. he’s gonna linger that ‘I’m gonna come back’ for as long as he can,” Brown said. To be fair, McGregor is the best example of doing the type of things Brown wants fighters to do. The Irishman, after all, leveraged his star power to establish a veritable business empire off of which he has built a plethora of wealth.
But it seems there may also be downsides to fighters having options- they may no longer want to fight. But that is exponentially better than struggling financially and having to fight to make ends meet even when you shouldn’t. What do you think about Matt Brown’s thoughts on the Tyson-Paul fight and his advice for fighters?
