Dana White has seriously teased the shock signing of Tyson Fury to Zuffa Boxing in what would be a seismic development for the sport.
Fury, who is set to finally share the ring with long-time rival Anthony Joshua in November, made a surprise appearance at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on Sunday night, wearing a cap emblazoned with the slogan “Donald Trump for Prime Minister.”
The former two-time world heavyweight champion hinted that he had big news, saying: "I think I'm going to let Dana do the speaking, let him do the announcement. It's a massive, massive, massive announcement.”
He then added there was “100 percent potential” that he would be fighting under the Zuffa promotion for the bout with Joshua, which will be among the biggest fights in British boxing history.
After the conclusion of the event, which saw Justin Gaethje stun Ilia Topuria to claim undisputed lightweight gold, White made it appear that confirmation of Fury’s deal with Zuffa was imminent.
Probed on whether Fury had signed with Zuffa, White said: “We’ll make an announcement soon.”
The UFC president was then pressed on whether that was a yes, to which he replied: “Listen, let me reiterate. Judge me 1 January 2027 on what we’ve done this year on boxing.
“I keep talking about all these other guys talking a lot of smack - I haven’t said anything about any of these guys. I’m in my lane, I’m doing my thing.
“Just sit back and watch. We’ll make an announcement soon.”
White stated last month that he was set to be the promoter for Fury vs Joshua, something both Eddie Hearn and Queensberry’s Frank Warren denied.
However, Fury’s new relationship with White will fuel speculation surrounding that claim, with the UFC president’s venture continuing to shake up the sport.
“For the last couple of weeks I've been hearing from the media and other people that I'm not involved in the fight,” White said. “I've been hearing that Tyson Fury couldn't get out of the country and couldn't get into the United States and it just seems like everybody's always wrong.”
Fury would follow the likes of compatriot Conor Benn in signing with Zuffa, who stunningly ditched Hearn to join forces with his very public rival in February, despite Hearn having supported Benn during a years-long drug-test saga.
He was sat next to Benn, along with two-time IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, at the landmark White House fight card.
