Over recent weeks, there has been a lot of back-and-forth between Jon Jones and Tyson Fury. And UFC president Dana White is now adamant about making this highly-touted fight happen, but only in the UFC. As per the 53-year-old, it would be to crown “The baddest man on the planet.”
When it comes to “gimmick fights,” White has famously said in the past, “It’s not what I do here.” However, he has now issued a bold challenge to the heavyweight giant to face off against arguably the GOAT of the MMA world in the Octagon.
Speaking at the UFC Vegas 74 post-fight presser, White declared he’d be willing the make the fight happen under MMA rules. He also stated that if ‘The Gypsy King‘ really wants to find out who “the baddest man on the planet” is, he should accept the challenge to face ‘Bones’ in the cage, as opposed to a boxing ring.
‼️ Tyson Fury ripping into Joe Rogan on Instagram today, calling him a “little p***y” and a “f***ing bald-headed midget” after his recent comments regarding Fury vs Jon Jones…
[🎥 @Tyson_Fury] pic.twitter.com/otSpJhzSQR
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 18, 2023
It all started when Joe Rogan discussed the fantasy matchup between the two on his podcast recently. The UFC commentator said he’d put all his money on Jon Jones, should he be locked up in a room with Fury. As expected, the British boxer didn’t take too kindly to those comments. He called Rogan out in a fiery Instagram rant and said he’d be the only one walking out of the room.
For his own part, Jones expressed interest in the fight as well. He sent out a tweet, enticing Tyson to call Dana White to make the fight happen inside the famed Octagon. This unexpected feud had a lot of people on Twitter talking about the potential matchup and what a massive draw it would be.
Hey Tyson, it seem like Joe may have struck a nerve. I’ll admit there’s no one touching you in that ring right now, but let’s not let that confuse you with what would happen if you stepped foot in my cage. If you ever want to put some of those questions you got going on to rest,…
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 18, 2023
From what it appears, Dana White looks hellbent on bringing this fight to fruition. It would arguably be one of the biggest crossover events in combat sports history. And possibly, even more so than when Conor McGregor made the switch from MMA to boxing against Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
Dana White offers Tyson Fury a huge payday for Jon Jones fight
Needless to say, the highly anticipated matchup continues to draw a lot of excitement from fans. They appear to be eagerly awaiting the outcome of this potential clash of the giants. And in terms of materializing the fight, UFC president Dana White seems to be on board as well.
Following the aftermath of UFC Vegas 74, White appeared at the post-fight presser to answer questions about the recent Fight Night and more. During a particular segment, the 53-year-old shone a light upon the dream matchup. He told the media, “I like Tyson Fury; I have a great relationship with Tyson Fury.”
“So there’s this debate right now about the baddest man on the planet, right?,” Dana Continued. “Jon Jones is the baddest man on the planet. There’s no doubt about it. If you want to discuss another possible baddest man on the planet, it would be Tyson Fury in a boxing arena, and we all know that if Jon Jones boxes Tyson Fury, Tyson Fury wins. All these boxing guys want to want to talk about this, and they want to keep it in the ring.”
“I’m telling Tyson Fury, whom I respect very much. If you really want to find out who the baddest man on the planet is, I will make that fight,” White explained. “I will make Jon Jones vs. Tyson Fury in the octagon. And, you know, we figured out how to pay Floyd. We’ll figure out a way to pay you too, Tyson. The offer is out there if you want to do it in the UFC.
“I know he was messing around with MMA for a little while there. Let’s do it. Let’s answer the question. But these guys(UFC fighters) aren’t boxing him …You want the title of baddest man on the planet? Let’s do it. I’m in…We could all talk about this forever. There’s only one way to find out. Let’s do it. I’m willing to do it. Tyson can call me himself. He has my number,” Dana added.
Dana White is making a BIG MONEY challenge to Tyson Fury to fight Jon Jones in UFC. 😳
“We figured out how to pay Floyd, we’ll figure out how to pay you too, Tyson.”
Full interview: https://t.co/Xg2Je2G5AI pic.twitter.com/JzBlbCLEpZ
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 4, 2023
The UFC president added that if these two were to lock horns in the cage, it would be for the UFC heavyweight belt. This would make the fight even more salivating to watch for every combat sports fan out there. White concluded, “I think what it should be is, is it should be for the UFC heavyweight title. If Tyson Fury wins it, he f*cking walks away with that thing.”
Fury has recently stated that he has no interest in stepping inside the cage since it would have him “roll around on the floor.” Despite this, the magnitude of such a high-profile matchup will keep the fans buzzing for quite some time. And hopefully for Tyson fans, he may be persuaded to change his mind by the potential payday that Dana is willing to offer.
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