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Dana White seems adamant about making a fight happen between WBC champion Tyson Fury and undisputed heavyweight title holder Jon Jones. And the UFC boss says he is willing to shell out some money, too.
White spoke about it during Saturday’s media scrum after UFC Vegas 74 at the APEX.
Dana White restates Jones offer to Fury
In late May, Dana White extended an offer to “The Gypsy King” about a possible matchup against his undisputed GOAT.
“Tyson and I have a good relationship. I like Tyson Fury. We can talk all we want. Tyson can talk, Jon Jones can talk, I can talk, we can all talk. Let’s do it,” White said.
On Saturday, White once again stated that he is more than willing to turn these talks into a reality to finally settle the “baddest man on the planet” debate. But according to him, it has to be in the UFC Octagon.
“We all know if Jon Jones boxed Tyson Fury, Tyson Fury wins,” he said (via MMA Junkie). “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.”
Why Dana White is confident about getting Fury paid
He may not be as keen on addressing UFC fighter pay, but Dana White is more than willing to talk money with regards to Jones vs. Fury. And that confidence stems from the previous blockbuster crossover fight he did involving one of his own.
“Tyson can talk, Jon Jones can talk, I can talk, we can all talk,” White said in a previous interview. “Let’s do it. If Tyson is serious, and he wants to do it, listen, I got Floyd Mayweather to fight [Conor McGregor], and we paid Floyd. We got Floyd the number he wanted.”
On Saturday, White doubled down on that statement.
“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.”
How the Jon Jones-Tyson Fury conversation began
Everyone who’s followed this story knows that these talks didn’t begin with Dana White. It all started with the comments from UFC analyst Joe Rogan, saying there’s a “zero chance” for Fury to beat Jones if the latter two were locked in a room together.
Fury, of course, wasn’t pleased and fired back, saying “Not a man born from a mother can f—k me up in a room or our own.” Jones later chimed in, urging Fury to call Dana White to get some answers.
But as far as Fury is concerned, the only way he agrees to a Jones fight is if it was done under boxing rules.
What’s next for Tyson Fury and Jon Jones
The 34-year-old Fury last fought in December against Derek Chisora, whom he defeated via tenth round TKO to defend the WBC title. He is planning for a July return, but has yet to finalize his opponent. Per reports, Andy Ruiz Jr. and Zhilei Zhang are the frontrunners.
Jones, who turns 36 in July, won the vacant heavyweight belt in March against Ciryl Gane. He intends his first title defense to be against former champion Stipe Miocic in Madison Square Garden later in the year. Jones also sees it as a possible retirement fight.
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