"It's a little unfair" - Ex-UFC champion reacts to imposition of $10 million pullout fine for Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk's rescheduled fight

The historic heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, which was originally set to go down on Feb. 17, has now officially been rescheduled.

The heavyweight unification bout will now take place on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight was postponed due to a cut Fury sustained in camp. The fight has now been postponed twice, as the two were originally slated to face off in December 2023.

This time around, the promoter, Turki Alalshikh, added that both fighters will be subject to a $10 million fine if they withdraw from the bout or force it to be delayed once again.

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping took to his official YouTube channel to react to this stipulation. He argued that while the stipulation is a little "unfair" to Usyk, it upped the stakes and makes the fight bigger:

"It's a little unfair for Oleksandr Usyk, because he hasn't pulled out. The reality is Tyson did pull out. Legitmate pullout, unfortunate, unplanned, wasn't his fault, it was an accident, but it was him that pulled out. Now, Usyk, he might get cut in training, there's a potential 10 million dollar penalty there for him. But he hasn't done anything, but if he accidentally gets cut, that's a 10 million dollar cut for him. And for Tyson Fury. The reality is, this fight now, it just got a lot bigger."

Check out Michael Bisping's comments here (3:40):

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The cut that forced Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk to be postponed

Fury suffered a nasty cut, which was the result of an inadvertent elbow his sparring partner landed on him during his training camp for the Usyk bout. As a result, the bout has now been rescheduled to take place on May 18.

Queensberry Promotions, co-promoters of 'The Gypsy King', took to Instagram to release an official statement and share an image of the injury Fury sustained.

The post stated that it was a "freak cut" that required "urgent medical attention and significant stitching," and went on to add that they will work with all the parties involved to ensure the fight takes place in the future.