Tyson Fury has confirmed that he is in talks with the UFC for a unique "hybrid fight" with their legendary heavyweight champion Jon Jones after the pair's back-and-forth.
The boxing world heavyweight champion has been struggling to find an opponent for his planned September date, with former UFC king Francis Ngannou's name frequently mentioned as a potential rival. And he has now claimed that there was a legitimate offer from the MMA promotion for a champion vs champion match-up.
Fury has previously said that he would be keen to face Jones, but wouldn't step into the cage under any circumstances for such a bout. Meanwhile, UFC president Dana White has insisted that he would be delighted to welcome Fury into the UFC for a rare crossover.
"I've been in talks with Francis Ngannou for a hybrid fight," Fury told listeners on a Twitter space for Foxify Trade. "There's talks of me and Jon Jones doing a hybrid fight as we talk right now. I received an offer from the UFC yesterday so you never know what's going to happen.
"The future is bright for sure, and there's a lot of options out there. It seems at the moment that I'm struggling to get an actual boxing opponent so I think that Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the WBC, said on a podcast recently that Tyson is a victim of his own success.
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"He said I'm that good that people don't want to fight me, they'd rather fight somebody else and that's what I'm experiencing right now. I think I've called out everybody in the top 15 in the heavyweight division in the last six months and I'm still without an opponent as we speak today."
Fury and Jones' feud began when commentator Joe Rogan joked that he would put all of his money "on black" if the pair were to meet in a street fight. The boxer was offended by Rogan's comments but insisted that if the pair were to fight that it would have to be in the boxing ring.
Jones has admitted that he would struggle in the ring, telling Fury: "Hey Tyson, it seems like Joe may have struck a nerve. I’ll admit there’s no one touching you in that ring right now, but let’s not let that confuse you with what would happen if you stepped foot in my cage. If you ever want to put some of those questions you got going on to rest, give Dana a call. I’ll help you out."
