CONOR MCGREGOR’S scrap with Floyd Mayweather wasn’t the first time a UFC fighter has taken on a boxer.
Heavyweight legend Mike Tyson set the trend with Jon Jones back in the day when they met for a joke street brawl.
Jon Jones lays a right slap on Mike Tyson in a joke street fightCredit: Instagram
Mike Tyson ducked and dived with a return with his leftCredit: Instagram
Back in 2014, UFC lightweight champion Jones was preparing to take on Daniel Cormier in Las Vegas in a bid to defend his belt.
And he spotted the perfect opportunity to have a warm-up when he bumped into Tyson on the street.
A friend filmed the moment the two jokingly sparred including Jones’ playful slap on his fellow American.
Tyson, who last fought in 2005, took it in good spirits before the pair laughed and embraced.
Jones would go on to beat Cormier but was later stripped of his title after failing a drug test.
He then rectified his mistake by knocking out Alexander Gustafsson in 2018 and has since defended his world title four times.
His latest title defence came against Dominick Reyes in February after being taken all five rounds inside the octagon.
It appears Iron Mike must have left an impact on him after Jones compared himself to the former heavyweight champion.
He said: “Unfortunately for some of my fans, Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes, I couldn’t put them away and they challenged me.
“And there’s good in that.
“One of Mike Tyson’s biggest problems was that he was so dominant, people lost interest.
“Fans got their money’s worth tonight by seeing me go through the ringer and getting to see the heart of a champion.
“That’s totally worth the 60 bucks you paid on pay-per-view. So there’s good. There’s good in this.”
Tyson is still throwing jabs but is facing less intimidating opponents after uploading a video of him sparring with his dog.
The pair laughed and embraced at the endCredit: Instagram
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk