LAS VEGAS – Dana White doubled down on his offer to heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.
Unprompted, the UFC president brought up the idea of a UFC fight between heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Fury speaking to the media at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night on ESPN 45, and he made sure to make it clear that his offer to Fury still stands.
“I like Tyson Fury, I have a great relationship with Tyson Fury,” White said. “So there’s this debate right now about the baddest man on the planet, right? And Jon Jones is the baddest man on the planet. There’s no doubt about it. So when you talk about who’s the baddest man on the planet, if two guys fought, fought, in a fight, who would win? If you want to discuss another baddest man on the planet, it would be Tyson Fury in a boxing arena.
“We all know if Jon Jones boxed Tyson Fury, Tyson Fury wins. All these boxing guys want to talk about this and keep it in the ring. I’m telling Tyson Fury, who I respect very much: If you really want to find out who the baddest man on the planet is, I will make that fight. I will make Jon Jones vs. Tyson Fury in the octagon. And we’ll figure it out. We figured out how to pay Floyd (Mayweather), we’ll figure out how to pay you too, Tyson.”
The Jones, Fury drama started last month after UFC commentator Joe Rogan said Jones would beat Fury in a fight and that the boxing champion had no chance outside the ring. This sparked a back and forth between the two combat sports stars, which lead to White weigh-in and telling Fury he’s willing to make that fight.
Fury responded to White, saying it would only be under boxing rules, but White is not willing to go there. He says the fight would have to be in MMA to properly determine who’s “The baddest man on the planet.”
“The offer is out there,” White said. “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 aren’t boxing. You want the title of baddest man on the planet? Let’s do it. I’m in.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
