UFC president confirms talks to promote Justin Bieber, Tom Cruise match
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UFC President Dana White confirmed Thursday that he had engaged in talks last week “with two big guys” about a potential fight between Justin Bieber and Tom Cruise after the pop star challenged the actor to a match.
White made the comments as a guest speaker at Hashtag Sports 2019, according to USA Today. Asked to confirm a June 20 report by TMZ in which he said he’d been approached about making the fight happen, White said: “It is true.”
FILE: UFC President Dana White speaks with Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal during the Hashtag Sports conference at the TimesCenter. (AP Images for Hashtag Sports)
“As crazy as that sounds, that is true … I don’t want to use any names, but I was at home on a Sunday, and I got a call with two big guys on the phone,” White said. “They were telling me this could possibly happen and this could be real. I’m like, there’s no way this is really going to happen. But if it does, call me back. I’m in.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}If he could make happen, White said, “I’d be all over that fight. It’d be the biggest pay-per-view in the history of pay-per-view.”
Bieber set the MMA world ablaze on June 9 after challenging the 56-year-old Cruise to a “fight in the octagon.”
“I wanna challenge Tom cruise to fight in the octagon. Tom if you don’t take this fight your [sic] scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite?”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UFC LEGEND B.J. PENN CAUGHT ON VIDEO FIGHTING BOUNCER OUTSIDE HAWAII CLUB
The 25-year-old later backpedaled the idea, admitting it was a joke. But White told TMZ on June 20 he’d taken phone calls from people claiming both stars are interested in the bout. Cruise has not publicly responded to the challenge.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I’m not going to say any names, but I’m going to tell you that I got a phone call from a couple of real guys who said that they really do want this fight and they believe Tom Cruise would do the fight," White told TMZ last week. "I told them, ‘I’ll tell you this, if that’s true…If that’s true, and everybody involved in this thing wants to do it, we can talk.”
Fox News' Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.