Dana White has revealed that plans to announce Tyson Fury’s fight with Anthony Joshua at UFC Freedom 250 were abandoned following complications behind the scenes, with the long-awaited heavyweight contest now scheduled for December 11 in Cardiff.
Fury attended the UFC’s White House event earlier this year, where he had been expected to confirm the Joshua fight. However, the announcement never materialised, with disagreements over the promotion and location of the bout subsequently emerging between White and Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn.
“Yeah. F*ckery [happened]. A lot of f*ckery has gone on since then,” White told Pat McAfee on Tuesday, as noted by MMA Fighting. “And here we are. We finally got here. We have tickets on sale. Tickets did well. So it’s been interesting, but I knew these types of things were going to happen when I got involved in the sport of boxing.”
White, whose organisation is promoting and producing the contest, had pushed for the fight to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York, while Hearn and Joshua favoured a venue in the United Kingdom. The Principality Stadium in Cardiff was ultimately selected, with White confirming that fewer than 700 tickets remained shortly after they went on sale.
“We’re promoting and producing the fight,” White said. “It’s at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, and I’m excited that I get to be there. It’s basically already sold out.” White also acknowledged Hearn’s role in securing the venue, adding: “Eddie pushed hard for this thing to be in the U.K. I was trying to do it in MSG. It’s in the U.K. and sold out an 80,000-seat stadium.”
The December 11 meeting will bring together two of Britain’s most prominent heavyweight boxers in a contest that has been discussed for several years. White, who is working alongside Hearn and fellow promoter Frank Warren on the event, expects a substantial following for both fighters in Cardiff. “It’s just one of those things where generational guys are finally fighting, and it’s going to be split,” he said. “You’re gonna have the A.J. fans, the Fury fans, and I guarantee you the arena is going to be electric that night.”
