Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Tyson Fury Says He Received Contract Offer for Jon Jones 'Hybrid Fight' from UFC

Mike Chiari

World heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury said Friday that he received an offer to fight UFC heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones recently.

Appearing on Twitter Spaces, Fury said the UFC made him an offer Thursday to compete in a "hybrid fight" against Jones:

Regarding the offer, Fury said, "You never know what's going to happen," although he did not give any definitive answer on whether he intends to accept the offer.

Additionally, Fury did not reveal what rules a hybrid fight between him and Jones would have, although there is little doubt that it would generate a ton of interest in the combat sports world since they are arguably the best heavyweight fighters in their respective sports.

The 34-year-old Fury has never lost in 34 professional boxing fights, posting a 33-0-1 record with 24 wins by way of knockout. Most recently, he beat Derek Chisora by 10th-round TKO in December to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

Jones, 35, is in the conversation for greatest UFC fighter of all time, as he is a two-time light heavyweight champion and one-time heavyweight champion who holds the UFC records for most light heavyweight title defenses and wins.

After going over three years without a fight, Jones decided to transition into the heavyweight division, facing and defeating Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title in March.

That improved Jones' career record to 27-1 with one no contest. The lone loss was a disqualification for illegal elbows against Matt Hamill back in 2009.

While discussing the offer to fight Jones, Fury agreed with the sentiment in that he is "a victim of his own success" in that he has been so dominant that he can't get any top contenders to box him.

There had been rumors of Fury potentially fighting fellow Englishman Anthony Joshua or WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, IBO and The Ring heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk, but he has been unable to reach an agreement with either of them.

Since Joshua and Usyk are perhaps the only two big-name opponents available to Fury in the heavyweight boxing division, there isn't much else for him to do if he can't nail down a fight with either of them.

A hybrid fight would perhaps be outside the comfort zone of both Fury and Jones, but there is little doubt that they would both stand to make a massive payday with that type of crossover clash.

If it does ultimately happen, Fury vs. Jones would likely be the biggest boxer vs. MMA fighter bout since Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor boxed in 2017.

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)