Vitor Belfort wants Jon Jones to fight Anthony Joshua under the rules of his latest invention.
The former UFC champion is confident he can create ‘never seen before’ pay-per-view numbers with a new hybrid glove that he hopes to introduce to UFC CEO Dana White.
Belfort wants to spearhead a new combat sport, offering MMA fighters an equal chance of winning when they transition to the sweet science.
He has patented a new glove, featuring traditional padding on top exactly like a boxing glove but with the fingers exposed to allow clinching.
The weight of the glove will depend on whoever is using it, running from eight to 12 ounces.
“I would get Jon Jones [and say], ‘Let’s challenge the British fighter, Anthony Joshua,’” Belfort said on The Ariel Helwani show, speaking on his new idea.
Belfort has previously urged Jones to avoid a fight with Briton Tom Aspinall to unify the UFC heavyweight division, insisting that ‘Bones’ should focus on new opportunities to define his legacy.
“Let’s ask him to come and box with these gloves on,” Belfort added. “No fingers exposed, it’s not dirty boxing, you’re just going to use your hands.
“You guys will box 12, three-minute rounds, but the rules are you will be able to grab his hand and head, and punch him in the clinch.
“I think that would be the fight that would break pay-per-views and go viral, especially now with Dana [White] promoting boxing.”
UFC President White announced his new venture into boxing in March, alongside WWE boss Nick Khan and Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh.
The 55-year-old will promote Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford in September on the same weekend as UFC 320 in Mexico.
“We have to level up and create a 50/50,” Belfort continued. “We MMA athletes always went there and boxed with them.
“Now, let’s meet in the middle. Jon Jones is the perfect guy to make that fight on [my] gloves, and if we do this the numbers will rise to the top pay-per-views, never seen before.
“People should respect me for everything that I’ve called before and it happened.
“Some people have the authority to ask for things. I know if MMA and boxing meet together, it’s going to be a business.
“I want to bring this to Dana. I think Dana should stop promoting fights between boxing and MMA.
“Imagine this fight in the cage – Jon Jones vs Anthony Joshua.”
Belfort, a pioneer of mixed martial arts, has mixed it up with the best fighters on earth, including Jones, Anderson Silva and Michael Bisping.
The Brazilian star fought in MMA for 22 years, before retiring in 2018 after losing to Lyoto Machida, and his 13 first-round UFC wins is the most in the organisation’s history.
This past weekend, the three-weight contender was thrust back into the spotlight after being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame during UFC 315 in Montreal, Canada.
This has handed him the platform to speak more on his ambitious plans to combine the sports of MMA and boxing.
“The boxing clinch is one thing,” he added. “The MMA clinch is different. We’re not going to kick the boxers. We’re not going to take them down.
“But let’s see who has the best hands. Who can fight? Who can endure the grinding? That would be my dream, to combine… ”
Belfort concluded by confirming that he is not officially finished with competing.
The UFC 12 winner mentioned names like Silva and Jake Paul as potential names he would be back into the cage with, as it ‘has to make sense.’
