Dillian Whyte has offered to take on British rival Derek Chisora in a trilogy fight - but this time in the MMA cage.
Whyte and Chisora have met in two epic battles during their heavyweight careers, with a first duel being handed by controversial split decision to the 'Body Snatcher'. After a heated war of words for nearly two years, the pair settled the scores for a second time as Whyte produced a highlight-reel KO at London's O2 Arena in 2018.
The pair have since gone on their different routes, with both having fought and come up short against WBC heavyweight Tyson Fury last year. Despite facing calls to retire, Chisora has added to speculation that he could fight again, claiming on an Instagram live stream: “I’m trying to fight Francis Ngannou. I want to do it in the UFC and boxing.”
Whyte was quick to respond to his rival's call-out on social media posting underneath the claim: “I will fight you in MMA Dell.” The pair appeared to have settled their feud and become friends following their brutal all-British battles which captured the imagination of the public.
However, an MMA bout would likely sell well given the pair's history, while Whyte participated in MMA during his early days as a fighter. Whyte won his only professional contest in MMA, defeating Mark Stroud with a first-round KO in 2008, but he has extensive knowledge in kickboxing.
The Brixton-based heavyweight has since returned the ring following his devastating defeat by Fury, edging past Jermaine Franklin on points in a tough examination late last year. It was expected that he would next step in the ring with Anthony Joshua, but it seems likely that 'AJ' will first fight another top-15 contender before any potential rematch.
Who would win an MMA contested between Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora? Have your say in the comments!
However, despite appearing to miss out on the clash for now, promoter Eddie Hearn believes a rearranged bout can be sorted for the summer, providing Joshua wins in his comeback fight. "AJ wants a big fight in the summer, and the one that makes sense should be quite straightforward to make is the rematch with Dillian Whyte," said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV. "We’re open to Deontay Wilder fight.
"We’re open to a Tyson Fury fight. We’re open to every fight in the summer, but yeah, in my mind, with AJ fighting in April and Dillian probably fighting around the same time, that would lead them to a big all-British heavyweight fight in the summer. It doesn’t mean it’s done.
"We’ve still got to agree to terms for both fighters, but that’s what I’d like to do. However, AJ knows he wants to be in the biggest fights possible, and if a bigger rears its head and there are only two bigger fights in the division than Dillian Whyte, and that’s Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury."
