Tyson Fury has escalated his verbal feud with Jon Jones by indicating his willingness to fight the UFC heavyweight, but only if the bout is contested under boxing rules.
The two combat stars have become embroiled in a heated debate in recent weeks, over who would triumph in a fight between them – whether inside the boxing ring or the octagon.
Fury had initially suggested that he’d take on the American in any form of fighting – and would triumph – before claiming that he’d only take him on in the boxing ring.
UFC president Dana White then issued a call-out to Fury and insisted that he could organise the fight, just like he did for Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.
And, in the wake of White’s message, Fury has responded and laid down his terms for the fight and it’s drawn an interesting response from one retired UFC legend.
Tyson Fury (left) and Jon Jones (right) have continued their war of words on social media
Fury responded to a statement from UFC president Dana White and suggested that he will fight Jones ‘under boxing rules’
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Fury took to his Instagram page to respond to White’s statements.
He wrote: ‘If you guys want to fight me it’s got to be under boxing rules. I don’t roll round the floor, I stand up and punch.’
Debates over who would triumph in a bout between them have been rife in recent weeks and recently UFC legend Daniel Cormier – who was rivals with Jones – has now weighed in with his opinion.
‘Dana said ‘Hey, we’ll make it happen’. And for the record, Tyson Fury in a full-on fight has no chance against Jon Jones,’ Cormier explained.
‘And that’s no knock on Fury. In a singular skill set with boxing gloves, Tyson Fury will beat Jon Jones everyday of the week.
‘But, if by chance, they ever go into a full-on fight, Fury has as much of a chance as the guy walking into a convenience store on the end of your block to beat Jon Jones in a free-fight. It’s not going to happen.
‘This isn’t me knocking Tyson Fury. This is me telling you the absolute truth. Tyson Fury is the world’s best boxer. But the world’s best boxer stands such a slight chance to beat these elite mixed martial artists, it’s crazy.’
Fury had initially welcomed a fight in any format before suggesting the fight would have to be in the boxing ring
Jones’ long-term UFC rival, Daniel Cormier, suggested Fury would get beaten in the octagon but would triumph in the boxing ring against Jones
It’s been a rather confusing series of events in recent weeks, as Jones and Fury have gone blow-for-blow with verbal insults online, and it all kick-started with UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
Fury got fans excited about a potential crossover fight when he objected to Rogan’s suggestions that he would have ‘no chance in hell’ against Jones in a street fight.
Fury took to social media to blast Rogan an expletive-laden rant and insisted that he would win that fight against Jones.
The Gypsy King then engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth with Jones, with Fury eventually stipulating that he would only take the American MMA star on in a boxing ring.
Now UFC boss Dana White has weighed in on the beef, saying if Fury wants a UFC fight, he will make it happen.
‘Jon Jones is the baddest dude on the planet,’ White said in an interview with Bro Bible.
UFC president Dana White has recently encouraged the two combats stars to face-off
‘There’s no debate, there’s no denying it. Yeah, there’s no debate. I don’t care what anybody says or how they try to spin it. A lot of this stuff is clickbait. You know how I am: If Tyson Fury really wants to fight Jon Jones in the UFC, I will make it happen.
When questioned about who would win if the two fought, White suggested there is only one way of being sure.
‘Let’s find out. 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.
‘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.’
