“I SWEAR TO GOD! IF I MET MIKE ON THE STREET I WOULD KNOCK HIM OUT IMMEDIATELY” Chuck Liddell Claims He’d Beat Mike Tyson In A Street Fight

Chuck Liddell was asked by Ed Mylett during a 2019 interview who would win between himself and Mike Tyson. Chuck said that Tyson would win at boxing, but Chuck would win in MMA, which I think is fair.

When Mylett then asked who would win in a street fight between the two legendary warriors, Chuck said;

“Street fight, I win! I mean, he’s got a puncher’s chance. He’s got a chance to catch me coming in. But other than that, it’s over.”

Liddell claims that he would defeat Mike in a street fight. Chuck then doubled down on Twitter and defended his statement.

Chuck Liddell was one of the most successful and recognisable MMA fighters in history, you can’t really fault the guy for being confident in his abilities, but in my own opinion it would likely be Mike Tyson who emerged victorious if the two threw down in the streets.

Chuck Liddell is currently 51 years old. He stands 6’2” and, if he’s anywhere near his fighting weight, he weighs around 225lbs. Tyson is 54 years old and stands 5’10”. He weighed in at 220lbs for the Roy Jones Jr fight last year. Chuck’s 76.5” reach would see him have a sizeable 5.5” reach advantage over Tyson.

Both guys seem like they’d be quite handy in a no rules fight. I’ve heard the story of Liddell with his back against a wall in an alleyway knocking out a few guys during the infamous brawl in London between MMA fighters in which Lee Murray knocked out Tito Ortiz. Chuck has also fought in brutal vale tudo fights. Tyson has a reputation for being street certified too, he handed out a beating to former opponent Mitch Green during an impromptu street brawl.

My view is that if Mike and Chuck engaged in a street fight now Tyson would win. Liddell’s chin went years ago. He suffered a string of brutal knockout losses before retiring in 2010. Chuck came out of retirement in 2018 and looked a shell of his former self. He looked slow and plodding and his timing and reflexes looked to have departed him as he was brutally knocked out by his longtime arch rival Tito Ortiz, a man who’s number Chuck had always had during their prime years.

By comparison, Tyson looked fantastic in his November 2020 exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. He really looked to be in tremendous shape and seemed to have rolled back the years. He still had power in his punches and he showed glimmers of the defensive skills he used to possess when he reigned supreme as the “baddest man on the planet”. Though Tyson suffered a few losses as his professional career winded down, it was his hunger for the sport that deteriorated, whereas his chin and ability to take a shot remained intact.

Stylistically I’d also say that Tyson has the upper hand over Chuck, especially if the confident Liddell believes he can trade hands with Tyson. Chuck was a counter puncher who would time his opponents with long looping punches. This worked against most opponents but when he went up against Quinton Jackson, Jackson’s tight defence and more classical boxing style saw him time Chuck and get the better of Liddell. I think Tyson’s superior boxing skills would see him quickly close the distance on Liddell and batter him with punches. There’s no way that the modern day Liddell’s chin holds up.

Liddell seems confident in his striking skills but he’d be much wiser to attempt a takedown on Tyson, as he said he would do when defending his claims on Twitter. Chuck actually had very underrated wrestling skills, which he seldom used in MMA, but he did resort to wrestling when he fought the dangerous striker Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79, so it’s a distinct possibility that Liddell would put his ego aside and shoot in on Tyson.

In their current form Liddell has a decent chance of taking Tyson down but in my opinion it is more likely that the still explosive and formidable Tyson catches the creaky Liddell with a punch or combo coming in. I think that even a glancing blow to Chuck’s head as he shot in may rattle him at this point and mess with his equilibrium enough that Mike can finish the job. On average, I’d usually always pick a grappler over a wrestler but I just think that Chuck’s physical attributes have deteriorated a lot more than Tyson’s, meaning that in this scenario Mike’s speed, reflexes and understanding of angles and body positioning would see him tag Chuck on the way in.

Prime vs prime, I’d say that Chuck takes a nap if he gets into a punching exchange with Tyson. If he decides to wrestle then I think he could take Mike down but I’m sure that Tyson has a few dirty tricks up his sleeve and neither guy would emerge unscathed.

This is just my own personal opinion. Both guys were true warriors who had amazing careers in their respective sports. Respect to both guys.