Rafael Cordeiro has trained some of the best mixed martial artists in the world, but he was presented with a unique opportunity when he was asked to train multiple-time world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson ahead of his return fight against Roy Jones Jr. on Nov. 28.
Cordeiro agreed, and has spent the past five months helping the 54-year-old Hall of Famer prepare. It was a surreal experience for the Kings MMA founder and head coach.
“My heart was like, ‘My Lord,’ man,” Cordeiro told MMA Junkie. “When I held mitts for Mike Tyson, I didn’t know what to expect for a lot of reasons.”
Cordeiro, a three-time muay Thai world champion, has taught an array of former champions such as Fabricio Werdum, Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio Rua, Lyoto Machida and Rafael dos Anjos. But Cordeiro explained that, while training a boxing legend like Tyson, he found himself absorbing a ton of new information himself.
“I was there and then he came like ‘Let’s do it,’ and I wrapped his hands and it was great to see the pure techniques,” Cordeiro said. “Everything you’ve seen on TV, I have an opportunity to see in front of me and it was great to see one of the best of all time in front of me show his skills, and I learned a lot.
“We worked together for five months, and I can tell all the time that I went there, I learned more than I taught because this guy is the history of the fight. When he talks about fights, he talks with feelings. … He lives for fights.”
Tyson will face Jones in an eight-round exhibition in California, which has been dubbed “Frontline Battle,” on pay-per-view.
Rafael Cordeiro discusses experience of training Mike Tyson: ‘I learned more than I taught’