Three years ago, pop star Justin Bieber called out Tom Cruise for a fight in the UFC, the world’s biggest MMA promotion. At the time, UFC president Dana White did not dismiss the possibility of the bout taking place. Today, we will look back at the developments surrounding this potential celebrity match-up.
Bieber’s callout and Dana White’s response
In 2019, Justin Bieber challenged Tom Cruise to face him in the octagon, tweeting:
“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?”
Following the tweet, Dana White discussed the possibility of hosting the fight in an interview with TMZ Sports. White talked about how he had received calls from people interested in making the fight happen, believing Cruise might actually accept the challenge. The UFC president left the door open, saying:
“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.”
The first and last celebrity fight idea
Since then, White has not entertained the idea of hosting celebrity fights in the UFC octagon. However, a recent film shoot involving Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal resembles the concept. Gyllenhaal took part in a fight scene with former UFC fighter Jay Hieron for his upcoming movie with Conor McGregor called ‘Road House’. The shoot occurred before UFC 285.
As for the Bieber vs. Cruise fight, it seems to remain just an interesting concept without any real possibility of happening. Three years have passed since the initial callout, and the excitement surrounding it has long since faded.
