Who would win in a street fight, former heavyweight world champion boxer ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, or former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier?
That question has been pondered for many years but has recently found itself back in the spotlight on MMA social media – with one UFC lightweight prospect sharing a bold prediction as to who would emerge victorious.
Mike Tyson vs Daniel Cormier in a street fight – who wins?
On the one hand, prime Mike Tyson was one of the most terrifying power punchers in boxing history; on the other, Daniel Cormier was one of the greatest wrestlers in MMA history – so who would have the advantage in a street fight?
Earlier this week, popular MMA X (Twitter) page DovySimuMMA shared a post claiming that ‘DC would be 99.9% of the world’s population in a street fight’ – that post went viral, garnering over 2.6M views in a matter of days.
The majority of comments underneath the post, which are predominantly from MMA fans, read to the tune of ‘one takedown and it’s over for Tyson’ with Cormier having been a six-time US/Olympic team member and a NCAA D1 finalist.
UFC lightweight prospect Chase Hooper agrees that if Mike Tyson and Daniel Cormier ever engaged in a street fight (in their fighting prime) as soon as they hit the ground, it’d be an easy win for DC.
“The people that think that Mike would beat DC in a street fight are the same ones who thought he’d outbox Jake Paul at 58 years old,” Hooper wrote in response: “Now DC might lose an ear, but one takedown and it’s over.”
Replying to fans, the popular lightweight doubled down on his take: “Common sense isn’t nearly as common as you’d hope sometimes. Again, look at how many people were convinced Mike would KO Jake Paul.”
Former bantamweight world champion Aljamain Sterling also chimed into the debate, arguing that the result would entirely depend on the type of ‘street’ they fought on.
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“I think context of where this street fight is taking place matters. In a bar? In the literal streets? Is Tyson rocking Timbs or got on some Sike’s? It depends where for me!”
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Same as saying “first uppercut that Mike lands and Jake Paul is done.” Prime DC vs prime Tyson; one’s got infinitely more experience shooting around strikes than the other does trying to punch and counter wrestle
— Chase Hooper (@chase_hooper) January 7, 2025
Daniel Cormier ‘taps out’ on answering who’d win in a street brawl
This debate over who would win in a street fight, Cormier or Tyson, has been raging for a long time in the combat sports community; so long that DC has already answered that question himself.
During an episode of DC/RC back in 2022, Cormier was asked whether he’d be able to best Tyson outside of a ring or octagon, although the former champion was cautious about offering a definitive answer.
“I’ll tap in [to answer that] because in a street fight, I’m wrestling everybody, I’m wrestling them [all] to the ground and in a street fight you grab bottles, you can use everything. But RC, more than the fight, because I love Mike, he’s my guy and I would never lift a finger to harm Mike Tyson.
“The only reason they say that [Tyson would win] is that I’m a bit of a jolly. But look at a picture of me on the scale with my chain, I know you saw my bling out there, don’t even wear that anymore.”
To his credit, then co-host Ryan Clark refused to answer as he’s more scared of Tyson than he is of Cormier: “I understand that street fights involve a lot of things, and that DC is a lot meaner than he looks.
“I’m also more afraid of the actual Tyson than Daniel Cormier, so I’m not going to give an answer that might be objectively false, and I’m also not going to give an answer that might get me beat up in real life, so I’m refraining from giving an answer.”
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