Eddie Hearn claims Dana White made sensational bid to steal Anthony Joshua for UFC

Eddie Hearn has made a claim that Anthony Joshua could have been fighting in the UFC if Dana White had had his way.

The professional boxer, who is set to clash with Tyson Fury in the near future if reports are to be believed after the Gypsy King and Netflix made the claim.

As fans wait for the announcement of the two British boxers after almost a decade of waiting, this may have never come to pass following the latest story Hearn has told.

Hearn told the Cigar Talk podcast that the UFC CEO once approached Joshua directly to join the likes of Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov in the octagon.

He said: “About two contracts ago, the media ran a story: AJ (Anthony Joshua) in talks with Dana White.

“And I’m like, ‘The f—?’ So it’s in the paper, right? So, I go and see AJ, and we’ve got a media thing.

“And I went, ‘Yo, what the f—?’ And he’s like, “Yeah, he called me out of the blue.”

According to Hearn, Joshua made it clear where his mindset lay as he did not even give the offer from White a second thought as he wished to remain in the boxing ring and reach the pinnacle of the sport once again.

He said: “And he went, ‘I told him straight away. I said, ‘I’m with Eddie.

Eddie Hearn EXPOSES Dana White as a snake who tried to STEAL Anthony Joshua from under his nose 🐍, only to be told by AJ that Eddie is his guy and he ain’t leaving him despite Dana 30 minutes convo in the phone, AJ loyalty has been rewarded as he’s now a shareholder@NajiChill pic.twitter.com/eJemlHoFSH

— Boxing Massacre (@BoxingMassacre) April 13, 2026

“He said, 'But we had a good chat; like, we talked for like half an hour,’ because AJ likes to listen and stuff.”

However, the story didn’t end there if Hearn is to be believed, as he met White months later and confronted him about the call, and he confronted the UFC CEO.

Hearn said: “I went to Dana’s office, and we had a meeting.

“And I said, ‘I hear you spoke to AJ.’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ And you know something, he said to me within the first five seconds. ‘Just to let you know, I’m not leaving Eddie. He’s my guy, but let’s talk.'

“He goes, 'And I respect that.’ I was like, ‘Oh wow, right.'”