Topics: Boxing, Dana White, Mike Tyson, UFC, Australia
UFC boss Dana White has revealed how one conversation with Mike Tyson made him kill a deal to promote Hulu’s unauthorised biopic series on the former heavyweight champion.
Hulu’s upcoming eight-episode series Mike looks into the life and career of the 56-year-old, however, has been made without Tyson’s involvement and evidently without his blessing.
Tyson took to Instagram earlier this week, saying: “Don’t let Hulu fool you. I don’t support their story about my life. It’s not 1822. It’s 2022. They stole my life story and didn’t pay me. To Hulu executives, I’m just a n****r they can sell on the auction block.”
The series is set for release on August 25, and in preparation for the release, the streaming giant had attempted to strike a promotional deal with the UFC.
However, that deal quickly fell through.
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Following the latest episode of the Contender, White said: “We were about to do a deal. We were on the verge of a deal with Hulu to promote this Mike Tyson unauthorised biography or whatever it is.
“My head of production came to me and said ‘Hey, I’m hearing that Tyson isn’t happy about this thing.’ So, I called Mike and I said, ‘we’re in a deal with these guys, we have a verbal to do this deal with them.’ He said, ‘Dana, they’re f***ing me.’
“That’s all I had to hear. I said, ‘I’m out then. I’ll squash this deal.’ So I killed the deal and I told him that it was over and that we won’t be promoting that show for Hulu and then he did what he did.”
The 50-6 fighter was clearly thankful for White’s decision to close the curtains on the deal, taking to Twitter to thank the UFC president.
He tweeted: “Hulu tried to desperately pay my brother Dana White millions without offering me a dollar to promote their slave master take over story about my life.
“He turned it down because he honours friendship and treating people with dignity.
“I’ll never forget what he did for me just like I’ll never forget what Hulu stole from me.”
MMA stars Nate Diaz and Henry Cejudo have come out in support of Tyson and his ongoing feud with Hulu.
The youngest heavyweight champion’s fight against the streaming service doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.
He tweeted: “Hulu stole my story. They’re Goliath and I’m David. Heads will roll for this.”
