Dana White, UFC president, says Floyd Mayweather and the UFC are discussing a deal that would have Mayweather entering the octagon for a mixed martial arts fight. Holy armbar!
Look, I wouldn’t put anything past Mayweather. But my guess is that we’ll never see him enter the octagon with 3-ounce gloves for a real MMA bout. How many times can you fool the public?
“Everything is a realistic possibility,” White told ESPN. “Mayweather versus McGregor happened. Anything is possible.”
Interesting White would be amped about this when he was so pessimistic when discussion of a boxing match between Mayweather and Conor McGregor, the UFC lightweight champion, first surfaced about a year ago.
I never discounted that possibility even though McGregor had never boxed professionally, while Mayweather is the unbeaten king of the sweet science. Boxing is one of the martial arts (it’s called striking in MMA) and as far-fetched as it sounded, McGregor putting on boxing gloves and using just his fists was a reasonable adjustment.
A world tour, constant chatter on social media and McGregor’s popularity turned the fight, held Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, into a huge moneymaker. Showtime announced this week the fight generated 4.3 million pay-per-view buys in North America, second only to Mayweather’s showdown with Manny Pacquiao, which drew 4.6 million buys in May 2015.
Mayweather entering the octagon is a whole different dynamic and sounds more WWE than MMA. Truth is, Mayweather didn’t look all that great boxing against McGregor. He had been out of the ring for nearly two years and didn’t display the hand speed and foot movement he once had. He said he carried McGregor for three rounds before walking him down and scoring a 10th-round knockout. A more skilled opponent might have given Mayweather more trouble. Plus, Mayweather turns 41 in February.
Competing in MMA has proven tough enough for those who have attempted to make the switch. What chance will he have in the octagon when someone starts kicking his leg, taking him to the ground and wrapping an arm under his neck? The shoulder roll won’t work in this sport.
Mayweather risked little in boxing McGregor. He was taking on an opponent who was basically an amateur. It would be the other way around in MMA. My guess is Mayweather’s ego is such that he’s not about to risk taking a beating in a sport in which he would be more of a novice than McGregor was in boxing. He won’t risk his legacy and ego just to make a few more million dollars.
Surely, he’s not out of the $200 million he made fighting McGregor.
Sources at the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas this week said Mayweather hasn’t been seen training in any type of MMA and talk of him crossing over are “just rumors.”
Let’s hope it stays that way.