UFC president Dana White has long said that he's not going to do any ‘gimmick fights’ - but he's more than willing to finalize a showdown between UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Last month, Fury and Jones traded words on social media. 

Jones wants the fight to be in the cage, while Fury wants the contest to take place in a boxing ring.

“I see Jon Jones has piped up,” Fury said on Instagram. “Jon, you talk about being in a cage, I’m not a cage fighter, mate. I’m a boxer. The best boxer, actually. So if you want to come into a boxing ring and fight me, be my guest. Let me know. You don’t have to call anybody else. No Dana’s, nobody. You call me because it’s a boxing fight and I’m the boss in this game. You’re a great fighter, Jon, but you’re no boxer, that’s for sure. All the best, good luck.”

Jones reacted to his statements. 

“Yesterday, Tyson says, ‘no man born from a mother can beat me,’” Jones wrote on Twitter. “Today he says, ‘Jon can never beat me in a boxing ring.’ Yeah I’m glad we got that clarified. You just switched your beat up faster than Travis Barker, impressive.”

White believes a Fury vs. Jones showdown would crown the winner with the bragging rights of being the "baddest man on the planet."

“I like Tyson Fury; I have a great relationship with Tyson Fury. But there’s this debate right now about the baddest man on the planet, right? Jon Jones is the baddest man on the planet. There’s no doubt about it,” White told the media after UFC Vegas 74, according to MMA Mania.

“If you want to discuss another possible baddest man on the planet, it would be Tyson Fury in a boxing [ring], and we all know that if Jon Jones boxes Tyson Fury, Tyson Fury wins. All these boxing guys want to want to talk about this, and they want to keep it in the ring."

Back in 2017, White came together with Showtime to stage a mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and UFC superstar Conor McGregor.

The boxing match, which sold a shattering 4.3 million buys on pay-per-view, saw Mayweather stop McGregor in the tenth round.

White is ready to make a crossover showdown between Fury and Jones - but it has to be in the cage under UFC rules, which greatly favors Jones.

In past interviews, Fury has discussed the scenario of testing the waters in MMA and he was actually doing some training.

If he's serious about fighting Jones, White indicates that his phone line is wide open and waiting for the call.

"I’m telling Tyson Fury, whom I respect very much, if you really want to find out who the baddest man on the planet is, I will make that fight. I will make Jon Jones vs. Tyson Fury in the octagon. And, you know, we figured out how to pay Floyd [Mayweather] and figure out how to pay you too Tyson," White said.

"So the offer is out there if you want to do it in the UFC. I know he was messing around with MMA for a little while there. Let’s do it. Let’s answer the question. But these guys aren’t boxing him...You want the title of baddest man on the planet? Let’s do it. I’m in...We could all talk about this forever. There’s only one way to find out. Let’s do it. I’m willing to do it. Tyson can call me himself. He has my number.”