T.J. Grant thanks Mike Tyson ('Justin Bieber for grown men') for UFC 160 bonus

LAS VEGAS – T.J. Grant has former boxing great Mike Tyson to think for an extra $50,000 payday at Saturday’s UFC 160 event.

Grant (21-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) secured himself a lightweight title shot with an upset knockout victory over Gray Maynard (12-1-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 160, which took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Soon afterward, Tyson, an MMA fan who had been a guest at fight-week activities, took exception to the UFC’s plan to award co-main-event winner Junior dos Santos, not Grant, the night’s “Knockout of the Night” award.

White went backstage to tell UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta about the award recipients, including dos Santos for his stoppage win.

“Tyson’s like, ‘What? No way! That little guy (should get it)!” White said. “So Lorenzo and me were like, all right. I’m not going to say no to Mike.”

All wasn’t lost for dos Santos, though. After scoring a vicious third-round spinning-kick knockout of the seemingly indestructible Mark Hunt, dos Santos got a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus (as did Hunt).

Tyson, a former undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion went 50-6 during a sometimes-tumultuous and scandal-plagued career. In recent years, though, he’s led a quieter and cleaner life. White, though, said the 46-year-old still connects with his generation, as he learned during UFC 160 fight week.

“He had fun, man,” White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “He’s the Justin Bieber for grown men that like fighting. He makes everybody go crazy. He’s fun to watch fights with. He’s fun to hang around with. I like having him around.”

Tyson’s enjoyment was no more evident than at Friday’s fighter weigh-ins, where he joined White and other executives on stage. Tyson was even front and center when Khabib Nurmagomedov shoved opponent Abel Trujilo and prompted a brief scuffle.

Tyson was smiling ear to ear.

“Unfortunately, you can’t experience it, but everybody should experience what it’s like there during the stare-offs,” White said. “It’s one of the great things in sports. … He was there. He loved it. He was right in the middle of everything.”

For the latest on UFC 160, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.