When Dana White showed interest in Justin Bieber vs. Tom Cruise fight in the UFC
UFC president Dana White once did not rule out a fight between Justin Bieber and Tom Cruise happening in the world's biggest MMA promotion. It is now three years since Bieber's callout of Cruise on Twitter, and today we will look back at what could have been.
The popstar called out Cruise on Twitter in 2019, stating:
"I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon. Tom if you don't take this fight your scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite?"
See the tweet below:
I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon. Tom if you dont take this fight your scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite ?
During an interview with TMZ Sports following Bieber's tweet, Dana White shared his thoughts on hosting the celebrity bout in the UFC:
"It picked up a lot of steam and was everywhere. I'm not gonna say any names, but I'm just gonna tell you that I got a phone call from a couple of real guys who said they really do want to do this fight. And they believe that Tom Cruise would do the fight... If that's true and everybody involved in this really wants to do it, [then] we can talk... I'd be an idiot not to make this fight... I didn't think Floyd vs. Conor was gonna happen, anything is possible these days."
Watch the video below:
This appears to be the first and last time Dana White entertained the idea of hosting a celebrity fight in the octagon. That said, the UFC did recently host a 'fight' involving Hollywood superstar Jake Gyllenhaal for his upcoming movie with Conor McGregor called 'Road House'.
Gyllenhaal took to the octagon for a fight scene with former UFC fighter Jay Hieron before UFC 285 got underway.
Watch the video below:
Jake Gyllenhaal wins the UFC middleweight title
Alex Pereira is in trouble
https://t.co/zRFwzDUG5T
Jorge Masvidal comments on Dana White claiming Colby Covington is next in line for the title
Following Leon Edwards' victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 earlier this month, Dana White stated that Colby Covington would be awarded the next welterweight title shot.
White's statement was met with uproar from fans. Covington last competed against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in March 2022, and many believe his inactivity does not warrant a shot at the title.
Masvidal is set to take on Gilbert Burns in the co-main event of UFC 287 next weekend. He believes that a strong performance against Burns could be enough to jump Covington in the queue for a title shot.
During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, 'Gamebred' analyzed Dana White's comments and said:
"I love Dana but Dana says a lot of things. History says one thing - whoever makes the most noise when they fight, whoever f***ing sells the most pay-per-views and whoever fans want to see [fight]. At the end of the day that's who will get the fight."
Watch the interview below from 9:30: