Would a prime Mike Tyson style of fighting be ok for MMA?

The slipping, bobbing and weaving can leave you susceptible to easy knees. It's not a bad thing to be able to slip punches, but you don't want to dip so low that you can easily get caught by a knee, which is a much more powerful strike than a punch anyways.

Tyson fought pretty square up though, which is a plus for takedown defense. MMA fighters tend to stand more square than boxers because if you are too sideways (ala Floyd Mayweather) it makes takedowns as easy as pie.

It's a shame Mike couldn't have fought in MMA. Unfortunately, it's impossible to really know how he could have done because boxing alone is rarely a good indicator (as opposed to just wrestling, say, which can be a greater indicator of success). However, the fact that he had the drive and determination to become the youngest HW champ does hint that he could learn and drive himself (before he stopped improving in the middle 90s) to master the disciplines needed to fight MMA.

 

I think Tyson would've been a bigger Manhoef. Manhoef is up there with Tyson in terms of explosive punching. Which is pretty scary but again, susceptible to ground game. If no KO comes when the opponent is closing in, he loses.

 

In terms of striking I think Tyson would be ferocious and overwhelming. His knees are bent so I think he would have to be wary for takedowns or even instead of smothering himself take the the other guy down if hes closed too much distance. I think Tyson would be okay with learning elbows, he threw them in boxing anyway.

 

I dont like to have someone like Iron Mike in MMA.
Best case scenario for his opponent - turns it into wrestling match and Mike taps out
Worst case - Mike catches him with a bomb, the other guy falls on the ground, Tyson ends on him and starts pounding his head...I dont see how the ref can save the other guy from front page: "MMA: Mike Tyson kills again"

 

they would need to change completly their footwork.

 

In the sense that if they use that footwork and that stance, they would get leg kick at will.

 

He'd be a lot like Melvin Manhoef. But If he is young and famous. They could have hand picked his opponents from the beginning. Would he be undefeated? Nope

I'd imagine him having a 85-90% winning rec.

 

Knees bent is good. It means more power and solid grounding. MMA do it so they are ready for take downs and because of it often have better footwork than boxers.

 

strict peekaboo's asking for push kicks, leg kicks, head kicks, and knees to the face.
wouldn't work well in mma imho.

difference between tyson and manhoef is that melvin's trained in dutch & traditional muay thai; completely different style.
aside from that, manhoef will (in all likelihood) never hold a title belt for very long - he's too easy to submit.

 

This is ridiculous

Boxers have far better footwork than wrestlers. What boxer doesn't bend their knees? And don't say Pavlik in his fight against Bernard.

 

Boxers don't tend to stand as square as wrestlers and they don't distribute their weight correctly for takedown defense. This isn't to say all boxers stances will easily allow them to be taken down if they have good takedown defense training, but it isn't as simple as to say boxers have better footwork than wrestlers just because they have better footwork than wrestlers FOR BOXING.

Any high school wrestler could take down pretty boy floyd EASILY. The dude stands SIDEWAYS when fighting.