Max Kellerman: “Baddest Man On The Planet title belongs to UFC heavyweight champion, not boxing”
As the UFC and the sport of MMA continue to rise, there has become more for combat sports fans to watch, and now consider during the debates of the greatest fighters in the world. Last weekend Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury fought each other in a rematch with the WBC heavyweight championship on the line, but there were also some who considered the winner of this fight to be the “Baddest Man On The Planet” but not everyone on the broadcast that night agreed.
Max Kellerman who is a host on ESPN’s First Take and a highly-respected analyst in boxing, made a shocking comment about the “Baddest Man On The Planet” label, saying that title should be put on the UFC’s heavyweight champion and not boxing’s heavyweight champion.
“I would say getting back to the ‘Baddest Man On The Planet’ stuff, some things have changed since Tyson’s heyday. Number one, Deontay [Wilder] didn’t come on the scene like a phenom the way Joe Louis or Mike Tyson did. Number two, the rise of the UFC and MMA means that the heavyweight champion, even when he’s an explosive knockout artist, is no longer the baddest man on the planet, because in an actual fight, he’d lose to whoever is the best mixed martial artist because it’s a closer approximation of a real fight.”
These comments from Kellerman drew the attention of Sirius XM host Luke Thomas who then questioned why analysts like Stephen A. Smith are doing broadcasts for the UFC while having very little knowledge of the sport.
Max Kellerman said on the #WilderFury2 broadcast no matter who wins here, the baddest man on the planet is whoever the UFC champion is because that's a closer approximation of a real fight.
But by all means, let's keep serving up Stephen A. Smith's vapid takes on UFC shows.
— Luke Thomas🏋️♀️ (@lthomasnews) February 23, 2020
Following the comments by both Luke Thomas and Max Kellerman, current UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic responded with a simple reaction.
— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) February 23, 2020
After Tyson Fury took the boxing world by storm and defeated Deontay Wilder by 7th-round stoppage, Miocic would call for a fight against the newly crowned WBC heavyweight champion.
Congrats @Tyson_Fury I’d love to sing Sweet Caroline in the ring. Let’s do this.
— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) February 23, 2020
Taking into consideration Kellerman’s comments, Stipe Miocic is the current reigning heavyweight champion, has won the title twice, and has the most title defenses in UFC heavyweight history, and all things considered, in the eyes of Max Kellerman, it is Miocic, not Fury, who is the “Baddest Man On The Planet”.
