UFC President Dana White may be in for some crossover fantasy matches, but there’s one he’s been very interested in lately.
Just days after announcing that “gimmick fights” were not part of the UFC matchmaking rules, White publicly challenged boxing champ Tyson Fury to step up in a fight against UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones in the octagon.
While White admitted that he has a great relationship with Fury and knows he would easily win a fight against Jones in the boxing ring, the UFC boss thinks things will be different in the cage – and rightly so. Throughout the brief history of MMA fighters stepping into the boxing ring and vice versa, victory usually goes the way of the fighter who competes on his home turf.
Conor McGregor took on Floyd Mayweather in the ring, and despite smashing the box office, the result wasn’t surprising as Money finished Ireland’s The Notorious in the 10th round. When boxing champion James Toney entered the octagon to face second-division champion Randy Couture, things also went as expected: Couture quickly and easily eliminated Tunney for the submission win.
So why would White care about this fictional “worst man on the planet” rivalry instead of working with the PFL to set up Jones vs. former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou? Is White’s interest in fighting Fury real to create a potential mega event, or is all of this a way to make the UFC crowd forget about Ngannou?
The “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farrah Hannon, Mike Boone and Danny Segura answers these questions with “Fabulous” host Jorge Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.
Be sure to visit MMA Junkie Instagram page f Youtube A channel to discuss this and more content with MMA fans.