Mike Tyson on Ronda Rousey: ‘I think of myself when I watch her’

The path of destructive domination Ronda Rousey has blazed through the mixed martials arts world can only be paralleled by the rampage unleashed by a young Mike Tyson in the 1980s.

If you ask the heavyweight legend himself, he can see the resemblance as well.

In an interview with ESPN that ran Thursday, Tyson spoke about recently observing a Rousey training session in Glendale, California.

“Ronda, she’s a lady. Polite, kind, sweet and adorable,” Tyson said. “But her whole barometer is, she’s a killer. She has that killer aura, meaning anything is capable of happening. Whoa! That’s exciting before the fight even starts. I think of myself when I watch her.”

He would go on to speak in classic Mike Tyson imagery when describing his awe at Rousey’s approach and mental toughness. “Listen, if you want to become anything close to being a god, the first thing you’ve got to know how to do is know how to decimate,” he said. “If you’re a god, you have to know how to decimate, and that’s what she does. It would be very easy for her to have a big head, [to say,] ‘I can beat anybody in this world.’ I don’t know. Maybe she’s a likeness of a god.”

Rousey boasts an 11-0 professional MMA record and 10 of those victories have come by way of first-round stoppage. Of course, first-round knockouts were Tyson’s trademark back in his heyday so it’s easy to see why he feels such a deep connection to her, especially given the combat sport realm.

Rousey has proven, both inside the ring and outside of it, that she fears nobody, which is exactly the type of relentless mindset that led Tyson to become one of the most feared, dominant fighters of all-time.

Expect some Tyson/Holyfield-esque bad blood when Rousey fights Bethe Correia in August, a bout Rousey is definitely looking forward to. No word though if Rousey will tell Jim Gray that she wants to eat Correia’s children.