Floyd Mayweather MMA Debut: UFC Champ Thinks 'Money' Will Not Follow Through
After going out of retirement to fight Conor McGregor in the boxing ring, Floyd Mayweather Jr. said he is getting ready to hit the mixed martial arts (MMA) scene.
A few weeks ago, he told TMZ that he would need at least six to eight months to prepare for his potential Octagon debut instead of just two and a half, which is what Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion Tyron Woodley suggested to him.
Mayweather said that he and Woodley have been communicating, and are looking to start training "real soon." He added, "Whatever it takes, we want to make sure that everything is done correctly and everything is done the right way."
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While it seems that Mayweather is serious about making it happen but is taking his time, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway doesn't think he will follow through.
While the MMA fighter has no doubt that Mayweather is the "greatest" when it comes to boxing, crediting him in an interview with The MMA Hour for changing the sport "in a lot of ways," he thinks all this is just part of a gimmick.
"You guys really believe this guy is going to take an MMA fight, at however old he is right now, against a young guy that's tough who people consider one of the best in the sport? It just blows my mind, man," he said. "If people believe that kind of stuff, it's wild. I really don't know what to say," he went on to say.
Then again, many did not believe that his boxing match with McGregor will ever take place. A lot of people knew Mayweather will walk out the winner, the belief was that a rematch was in the Octagon was set in stone even before the "fight of the century" happened.
Their showdown last year is a proof that anything can happen in the sport, so an MMA debut does not look all that impossible when thinking about this UFC and boxing crossover.
Mayweather, who is now 41, has officially retired from boxing with a perfect record of 50-0. The undisputed pugilist, however, believes that if he puts in the work, he could do well in mixed martial arts fighting too.
Early this month, he said that his kicking skills might need some work, rating himself at four out of 10 in that department. He feels that his wrestling skills will just need a bit of polishing, saying that he is currently a seven there.
While there is no way of knowing at the moment if Mayweather will ever set foot on the MMA stage, veteran boxing announcer Jim Gray already has his money on the champ.
"If that's what he wants to do it'll be fun," Gray told TMZ Sports about the boxer's plan. "I think we got a long way to go before that happens. I don't think that's an overnight project," he went on to say.
When he was told about his plan to train for six to eight months, he advised with a laugh to never "bet against Floyd Mayweather in anything" referring to his flawless statistics. A bystander, however, reminded the one thing this record does not count is MMA.
