The thorny issue of fighter pay popped up at the most incongruous of venues — the final press conference of the Canelo-Crawford showdown. The interaction between Sean Zittel and Dana White caused quite a flutter on social media. Notwithstanding the timing, amid the backdrop of the $375 million antitrust lawsuit, the contentious subject once again grabbed headlines. So while the matter continues to stoke debates, an interesting development emerged when Mike Tyson knocked on the doors.

The boxing great once did a cameo in the WWE. Recently, he revealed a key reason that kept him out of the UFC. The amount of money he would have made in the MMA stint could barely match the payouts he received fighting stalwarts like Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Subsequently, a few enterprising users pulled up an old video. Featuring an interview with Ariel Helwani, it had Mike Tyson taking a jibe at MMA fighters’ low wages.

Mike Tyson: Time to pay fighters what they’re worth

So in 2012, a young Helwani caught up with ‘Iron’ Mike. The latter had formally retired from professional boxing six years ago. The discussion took an intriguing turn when Helwani asked the boxing legend if he foresaw MMA eventually taking over the combat world. Initially a bit hesitant, ‘Iron’ Mike responded, “Listen, in order for these guys, in order for the MMA to actually be like boxing… They gotta be f**king millionaires; they gotta get the money they f**king deserve… Why they gotta fight for 20 years to have f**king two little cars and a small house?”

The reply perplexed Helwani. He wondered if Tyson expected MMA to put on more shows. “So you think they need to put on a show a little more, right, like put themselves out there?” he asked. So Tyson clarified, “No, they’re putting on more than these people deserve. They need to get paid; they need to be. They don’t get paid enough.”

Now, as he caught the flow of the discussion, Ariel Helwani took up the pay issue. Mike Tyson clarified: “I’m just saying Ultimate Fighting Fighters are not getting paid what they should be getting paid.” To highlight, he took up then-UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s case. According to Tyson, the Brazilian icon should be living the life of a multi-millionaire.

Presumably, it was the low payout that kept him out of the cage.

Paycheck showdown: Boxing stars vs. UFC stars

Fat Joe joined Mike Tyson for a quick catch-up. The rapper, who has known Tyson for a long time, asked, “You are in your prime; you would have been a UFC fighter or something like that.” Tyson, however, made it clear: “Listen, 5 of the biggest UFC fighters combined couldn’t match my pay. I wanted the biggest purse; I want all that stuff. Mike Tyson fights; he shuts everything down.”

To set the record straight, what Tyson mentioned about his purses vis-à-vis those of some UFC stars may stand true. Stepping into the ring against some of the biggest names of the era, he made millions.

With UFC aligning with Paramount, the fate of its pay-per-view format hangs in the balance. As most fans know, PPVs used to form a major chunk of fighter pay, especially for the A-listers. So amid calls to increase fighter pay, this development casts further doubt on the situation.

Do you think Mike Tyson would have been a success in the cage?