Publicity Stunt? Tyson Fury Challenges UFC Heavyweight Champ Cain Velasquez to a Fight: In the Ring or in the Cage

By Jaime C. Feal

Tyson Fury made headlines this week by going on an unprovoked Twitter rant against Cain Velasquez. Fury called out the UFC Heavyweight champ numerous times, calling him a “Small, Stiff Idiot” and claiming he would smash him in either the ring or the cage.

At 6’9, the towering Fury would no doubt pick Velasquez apart in a boxing ring. Fury is undefeated and has been exclusively training the art of boxing for a long time. Velasquez would be giving up height, reach, and technique to Fury. Not a good combination. So for all his talk, Mr. Fury does have a point that he could beat Cain up in a boxing ring. That fight would likely end in a first round knockout by Fury, unless he chose to simply toy with Velasquez.

What defies all logic and common sense, however, is Fury’s claim that he would beat the UFC heavyweight champ in a cage with MMA rules. Fury has absolutely no wrestling background, and he is going to stop the takedown of a former Division I All-American exactly how? Velasquez would be all over him, and Fury would be on his back within seconds. Does anyone remember Randy Couture vs. James Toney? The fight was a complete joke. Toney was in a classic boxing stance, and Couture simply used an ankle pick to effortlessly take him down. From there it was just a matter of time until Couture choked Toney out.

In an MMA fight between Fury and Velasquez, the fight would go about the same. Fury would have no idea how to stop the beast wrestler that is Velasquez from taking him down. From there, it would get really ugly. Velasquez would likely just bash his face with elbows, hammerfists, and heavy ground and pound. Some payback for the unprovoked words would definitely be in order. If you think Antonio Silva, a lifelong MMA fighter, was a bloody mess after Cain got done with him, what would Tyson Fury look like?

Dana White should call Fury on his bluff. If the fight actually materialized, it would be a big win for MMA, as one of boxing’s young undefeated stars would be beat up bad in a cage – Not a good look for boxing. The fact of the matter is, the claims by Fury are so preposterous that White is likely to simply ignore them. And if he actually did offer Fury the fight against Velasquez, the management team for Fury would be screaming at him not to take the fight and jeopardize his blossoming boxing career. What we have here is a case of Fury running his mouth, making claims he can’t back up, and looking for some free publicity off Velasquez’s big weekend win over Dos Santos.