Khabib Nurmagomedov is a legend in not only UFC but in all of MMA industry. The stories of the Dagestani fighter are a quite famous. One of Khabib’s many stories was about him wrestling a bear as a kid. The video got viral and millions of people watched it. One of them was the legendary New York boxer Mike Tyson. However, there was something about it which Tyson wasn’t a fan of.
Mike Tyson is quite like Khabib Nurmagomedov in many regards. Both are known for their fierce fighting style. One is a sublime grappling master and wrestler whereas the other is famous for knocking the lights out of his opponents.
There are several instances where Khabib and Tyson have spoken and met with each other. During those times, both have shared respect for each other and what they have done in their respective sport. This was to the point where Tyson even agreed to label Khabib as a GOAT. However, there was one thing about him wrestling with a bear which did not sit right with Tyson.
Mike Tyson was not sold on the Khabib Nurmagomedov bear fighting video
Mike Tyson once sat down with ‘Triple C’ Henry Cejudo for his podcast Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson. During the podcast they went through the video of Khabib wrestling with a bear. Many thought that the video featuring 8-year-old Khabib was a hoax, however it is quite original. But Tyson was not a fan of it.
Tyson said, “The bear loves you. If it doesn’t love you, he could kill you in three seconds. You see those claws?“
This sheds light on the nature of the animal. What Tyson is implying is that the nature of the bear is subdued when it has a bond with Khabib. If it was a wild bear than the situation would have been quite different. It is possible that the bear was going easy on Khabib and not trying to harm the former UFC lightweight champion. Furthermore, there was an instance where even Khabib voiced his disapproval of Mike Tyson.
Khabib wasn’t happy with Tyson’s Look
The Dagestani himself once appeared on the Tyson’s podcast. Both were quite respectful towards each other during the podcast. However, there was something about Tyson which made Khabib uncomfortable.
Khabib said, “I didn’t like his look. I told him right away to get rid of all the things like smoke on the table. And I didn’t like being there. I liked more the way Cristiano Ronaldo looked. He looks like an athlete.”
Nurmagomedov spoke about how Cristiano was taking care of himself. He was particularly not happy about Tyson’s usage of weed. Moreover, the fact that Tyson was not in shape did not please ‘The Eagle’.