In a massive development, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is rumored to be in talks to take on MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in a boxing match in Saudi Arabia. The update comes from the MMA Pack on Instagram. A handful of hours ago, they shared a post on the platform informing their followers about the negotiations between the two parties.

“Mike Tyson vs. Fedor Emelianenko boxing match negotiations are underway and targeted for later this year in Saudi Arabia,” wrote MMA Pack. Fedor Emelianenko, a 47-year-old Russian mixed martial artist, last fought in the Octagon in February 2023, while 57-year-old Tyson had his last appearance in the ring on November 29, 2020, against Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition fight. Emelianenko holds a 41-7-1 MMA record compared to Mike’s 50-6-0 professional boxing record.

After losing to Ryan Bader at Bellator 290, Emelianenko emphasized the end of his career in MMA. However, he did not mean combat sports in general because now the MMA legend wants to take on Mike Tyson in a boxing match. He spoke about the same in an interview with the MMA Hour.

Fedor Emelianenko has been ready for Mike Tyson for a while

While appearing in an interview with Ariel Helwani back on 10 August 2023, ‘The Last Emperor’ claimed, “MMA is done, 100 percent. I’m not going back to MMA. I want to try myself in boxing. I think that’s going to be interesting.” Emelianenko further added that he had seen the fight between Tyson and Jones Jr, so “Mike Tyson would be an interesting fight.”

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A fight between them isn’t totally out of the question since Mike had previously expressed his desire to get back in the ring for the right amount of money. And given the fact that Tyson has an enormous following, people would clamor to buy the tickets for his fight. What’s more, Emelianenko also had a date in mind for the fight. 

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During the interview, Emelianenko had suggested that he would have been happy to fight Mike in the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou fight held in Saudi in October last year. He added, “I heard that Mike Tyson is going to help Francis Ngannou to prepare for (his Fury fight), so he’s probably in good shape too,” said Emelianenko. 

While that date has long gone, if the rumors from MMA Pack turn out to be true, it wouldn’t take long for the powers that be in Saudi Arabia to drum up a whole new event for Tyson and Emelianenko. Would you like to see Mike Tyson enter the ring one more time? Who do you think would win? 

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