Justin Bieber/Instagram/Cruise/Wagner ProductionsJustin Bieber left fans amused and a little bit bewildered earlier this month when he randomly challenged Tom Cruise to an MMA fight, before making a U-turn and insisting he was joking.
But now UFC’s Dana White has thrown his 20p into the mix, insisting the two celebs ‘really want to’ have a fight, claiming he’d be an ‘idiot not to make this happen.’
Chatting to TMZ, the UFC president said:
Let me tell you something interesting, obviously this came out, lots of people talk about fighting in the UFC, NFL players or celebrities or whatever, it happens a lot.
I saw it but didn’t pay much attention to it. I’m not gonna say any names but I got a phone call from a couple of real guys who say they really do wanna do this fight and they believe Tom Cruise would do the fight.
I told them that if that’s true – and everybody involved really wants to do it – we can talk.
GettyThe fighting front man added it would be the ‘easiest’ fight to promote in his entire career in the sport, making him an ‘idiot’ if he doesn’t make it happen.
Earlier this month, Justin took to Twitter to goad the Mission Impossible actor into the ring, writing:
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 ?
GettyHowever, when Cruise ignored the singer’s tweet, Justin went on to say he was only ‘joking’ during an interview in LA.
He told TMZ:
Naw… I was just joking. It was just a random tweet. The story is… I saw an interview with him. He was on my mind.
I’m pretty sure Tom would whoop my as* in the fight. I’d have to get in some good shape.
He’s out of my weight class. He’s got that dad strength. Love you Tommy.
PAAt the time of the tweet, former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor weighed in on the debate, tweeting:
If Tom Cruise is man enough to accept this challenge, McGregor Sports and Entertainment will host the bout. Does Cruise have the sprouts to fight, like he does in the movies? Stay tuned to find out!
Let’s see if Dana White can make it happen after all…
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.