Unpopular opinion i guess but here we go. The event was scripted but not the fight. Mike's knee was hurt, he came into the fight bandaged and on some videos of him prefight you can see how slow and wobbly he is on his feet. He came in hot but after round two it seems like he hurt his knee. Round 3-8 Mike was basically standing his ground in peekaboo stance and had no real ability to enter the longer reach of Jake who didn't force an early decision and played it out respectfully while still having to be careful about Mike's hands.
I personally enjoyed the event, we all have this question in some form at some point: "What if this old legend came back into the sport, would he/her be able to compete?".
I didn't come to watch a carnage, i was curious, how far the legend could push himself at 58 and i got my answer, i was entertained.
Totally. There’s been so many instances in German TV from shows that appear to be live and such, but end up being scripted. Two examples: "The Voice of Germany" purposefully forces people to sing songs they can’t perform well, and if they do perform well, they end up being kicked anyway. If they don’t sing the song - same. From the beginning, they know when every single one leaves the show and who ends up winning.
Same goes for "germanys next topmodel". It’s got a scripted progression with unscripted "story".
That‘s why when someone is really bad, the jury often says "you did bad today, but I got a feeling you’ll be much better tomorrow, so you stay in!"