Rickson Gracie was confident about beating Mike Tyson without exchanging punches
Rickson Gracie, being a well-established person from the world of combat with a reported 450-0 record in BJJ, was wholly aware of Mike Tyson’s fierce punching. He was confident about beating Tyson in a fight, but never wanted to trade hand shots with him. Very few combat sports fans would be unaware of the devastating punching power of ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. He was known for his gruesome knockouts, which left opponents dazed for quite some time even after the bout.
Gracie oozed confidence as he stated, “I don’t have no doubt about I can beat Mike Tyson. It’s hard to describe the fight. I don’t know how it’s gonna be”. But he also intended to maintain precaution, saying, “But the only thing I don’t wanna do is exchange punches with him. Other than that, I’m fine.”
It could be understood that Gracie was definitely implying that he could beat Tyson in a grappling or MMA bout since he didn’t want to exchange punches with ‘Iron’. A boxing bout between Gracie and Tyson probably wouldn’t have ended with Gracie‘s predicted results.
Rickson Gracie boasts a thoroughly impressive record himself
Gracie has fought across a variety of martial arts disciplines, including BJJ, luta livre, and MMA. He also fought under the noted Japanese MMA promotion Pride FC. Gracie was featured in two events of Pride FC in the years 1997 and 1998.
His appearance at Pride 1 saw him gain a victory over the Japanese Nobuhiko Takada; via an armbar submission in round 1. He managed to repeat his feat once again on his second Pride FC event at Pride 4. Once again defeating Takada with a similar armbar.
Rickson Gracie’s MMA record stands at an impressive 11-0 where he fought against multiple promotions across the world. Also, with a reported BJJ record of 450-0. No wonder he is considered one of the greatest ever in the world of combat sports.