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Tyson calls for 'awesome' Jones v Anderson fight

Mike Tyson has called on the UFC to make a superfight between Jon Jones and Anderson Silva, while admitting it is highly likely he would have lost in a superfight of his time against Royce Gracie.

Tyson is a huge fan of MMA, admitting he prefers to watch the fastest growing sport in the world over his first love of boxing.

The most recent UFC event saw light-heavyweight king Jones prove once again he is untouchable at 205lbs with a first-round stoppage of Chael Sonnen, and Tyson added his voice to the growing clamour for a Jones v Silva superfight - pitting light-heavyweight and middleweight champions against each other.

"That'd be an awesome fight from the fans' standpoint. All the fans want to see two invincible fighters from two different weight divisions. It would be very interesting," he told ESPN.com.

Asked if he could separate the two, Tyson would only go as far as saying Jones is his favourite UFC fighter. "It has to be Jon Jones. But I like Anderson Silva too," he said. "And Cain Velasquez! He showed what a champion is. He took a humiliating defeat, came back focused and beat Junior Dos Santos [in the rematch]."

Tyson's own stellar career, which saw him become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, has led to a one-man stage show touring America called "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth". But does he think boxing's most lethal weapon could have beaten MMA's pioneer: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu exponent Royce Gracie?

"If I hit him with a good punch, OK, but if he gets hold of me and in a position I'm not familiar with, I'm not going to win the fight," Tyson confessed. "I would have to be equipped with grappling skills as well.

"Gracie changed the whole game around. To be involved in this kind of fight, you have to know that style right off the bat. Everyone learned his style of fighting. Everything we have now is because of the Gracies taking it to the next level. Their name isn't on it, but that's what it is. It's Gracie Fighting."

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