BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Justin Bieber challenges Tom Cruise to UFC fight

  • Published
    10 June 2019
Share page
About sharing
Justin BieberImage source, Getty Images
By Chris Bell
BBC News

It is the contest Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fans never knew they wanted.

On Sunday, Justin Bieber challenged Tom Cruise to join him in the octagon (the UFC ring) to solve a problem so fiendishly difficult no-one had previously bothered to think of it.

If a 25-year-old pop star stands 5ft 9in (175cm) and sells 150 million records, attracting 106 million Twitter followers, why does he randomly decide to try to goad a 56-year-old movie star into fighting him?

Needless to say, a calculation so onerous quickly won the attention of the very best minds the social media platform had to offer.

@justinbieber tweeted: "I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the Octagon. Tom if you don't take this fight you're scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite?"Image source, @justinbieber
Presentational white space

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor was quick to talk up the bout's prospects.

"Does Cruise have the sprouts to fight?" he inquired, simultaneously offering his own company's services in hosting the clash and then offering to fight actor Mark Wahlberg on the undercard.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by Conor McGregor

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by Conor McGregor
Presentational white space

Meanwhile, Jake Marsh of comedy-sports podcast Pardon My Take provided the rundown on the potential fight.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by Jake Marsh

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by Jake Marsh
Presentational white space

You might also be interested in:

  • Tourist's lucky guess cracks safe code on first try

  • The underwater Indian village that emerges once a year

  • Ultimate limit of human endurance found

Sprouts or no sprouts, many took the view that in this match-up it's Bieber who's the turkey.

Cruise famously performs his own stunts and the physicality exhibited in action films like the Mission Impossible series would give him the edge, many social media users argued.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 3 by Jeff D... ark Phoenix

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 3 by Jeff D... ark Phoenix
Presentational white space

Others were just left confused by the whole thing.

@KlayeCreation tweeted: "Nobody: Nobody at all: Not one single self aware being in the universe: Justin Bieber to Tom Cruise:"Image source, @KlayeCreation
Presentational white space

"At some point tonight Tom Cruise's agent will have to call Tom Cruise and tell him Justin Bieber has challenged him to a fight," another user tweeted.

"This is an actual conversation that will happen."

Tom Cruise is yet to respond.

More on this story

  • Beyonce: 'Beyhive' hound woman off Instagram

    • Published
      7 June 2019
    Jay-Z, Beyonce, Nicole Curran and Joe Lacob
  • Here's how not to get Tyler Perry's attention

    • Published
      6 June 2019
    Tyler Perry

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Israel commits to daily pauses in fighting as six more malnutrition deaths reported in Gaza

    • 3093 viewing3.1k viewing
  • 'We need a real solution': Gazans welcome aid plan but fear it will not end crisis

    • Published
      2 hours ago
  • Wildfires continue to rage in Greece as extreme heat persists

    • Published
      2 minutes ago

More to explore

  • 'We need a real solution': Gazans welcome aid plan but fear it will not end crisis

    A Palestinian woman carries a bag of food on her head in Rafah, Gaza. She is wearing a black outfit and black headscarf. Behind her is a boy and other people.
  • Why I'm not paying into a pension

    Mohaimen with a big smile looking at the camera, wearing a cotton printed shirt which is both striped and has flower images on it.
  • Feeling tense? Here's how to survive the final with your nerves intact

    A woman in a blue England T-shirt holds her hands in the prayer position surrounded by fans in Boxpark, Croydon, London, in a particularly tense moment during the semi-final between England and Italy
  • Lucky mugs and vintage shirts: England fans share their matchday rituals

    A woman wearing glasses is drawing a red and white England flag on her right cheek in face paint while looking at her reflection on her mobile phone.
  • The make-believe festival boasting Glastonbury headliners planned by a convicted fraudster

    James Kenny is standing sideways in front of a blue and purple promotional screen at the National Television Awards, with the NTA branding behind him. He is a white man with short grey, thinning hair who is smiling and holding his hand up to his chin in a comedic way. He is wearing a blue jumper, square glasses and a NTA lanyard.
  • Screams and chaos: The moments after Bangladesh fighter jet hit a primary school

    Ahnaf
  • The last custodian: A Kashmiri artisan's battle to save a musical legacy

    A man wearing a black shirt and a white skull cap with black glasses looks into the camera. There are posters and wooden cutouts hanging on a wall in the background
  • How reality TV changed the way we think - for the better

    A treated image showing an old TV screen with a close up eye
  • Why we need to talk about periods, breasts and injuries in women's sport

    Chloe running towards the camera with her arms to her sides, wearing white shorts and white sports bra with her England shirt twirled up in her right hand, screaming with joy, blonde hair flying
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Astronomer's 'clever' PR move embracing CEO scandal - featuring Gwyneth Paltrow

  2. 2

    Why I'm not paying into a pension

  3. 3

    Does this look like a real woman? AI Vogue model raises concerns about beauty standards

  4. 4

    Plans for pubs to get greater protection from noise complaints

  5. 5

    Greece battles wildfires, evacuating residents near Athens

  6. 6

    Trump back on the golf course for day two of Scottish visit

  7. 7

    Investigating one of the UK's most abusive cults

  8. 8

    The make-believe festival boasting Glastonbury headliners planned by a convicted fraudster

  9. 9

    Thailand and Cambodia thank Trump for mediation, but shelling continues

  10. 10

    Screams and chaos: The moments after Bangladesh fighter jet hit a primary school

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • New drama from writer Jimmy McGovern

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Unforgivable
  • The Bafta award-winning comedy returns

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Such Brave Girls
  • An epic road trip across Vietnam

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Top Gear
  • Amol Rajan and Billy Bragg chat politics

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Radical with Amol Rajan
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.