Well, this one is a little out of left field.
Over the weekend, “Iron” Mike Tyson was on-hand in Jacksonville, Florida at All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing PPV. The AEW crew is backed by Tony Khan — the Khan family owns the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars — and boasts names like Chris Jericho, Matt Hardy, and Dustin and Cody Rhodes, plus a deep roster of promising rookies. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, son of the late Luke Perry, among them.
Tyson was there to hand out the inaugural TNT title belt, which turned out to go to Cody Rhodes. The promotion airs on TNT in the U.S. Also on hand, however, was former UFC champion and current ONE Championship fighter Vitor Belfort.
And it appears he wants a shot at competing in professional wrestling. Writing on his official Instagram account, Belfort suggested AEW owner Khan put him in.
ONE Championship would later seize the opportunity to highlight Belfort’s interest. “I think AEW should have Mike [Tyson] and myself do a tag team match against two of their champions,” they quoted Belfort as saying in a release to media outlets Tuesday. “Tony [Khan], the owner of AEW is a good friend of mine. That for me is a great idea and I’m open to it.”
ONE Championship, like RIZIN and Bellator, have been more open than rival UFC to allowing athletes to compete under other banners. AEW star Jake Hager (formerly the WWE’s Jack Swagger) currently competes for Bellator MMA as a heavyweight, with a 2-0, 1NC record.
Tyson has made several appearances for the WWE over the years, but has never been considered an actual pro wrestler. He was recently seen training with Belfort.
Belfort (26-14, 1NC), now 43-years old, is expected to face Alain “The Panther” Ngalani under the ONE Championship banner later this year. Tyson, meanwhile, has been teasing a return to the ring possibly for exhibition matches. The 53-year old has looked impressive, given his age, in training footage released thus far.
