Cruz to Mayweather: Focus on just takedown defense, nothing else

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz points out what he thinks are Floyd Mayweather’s keys to victory in an MMA fight. Retired undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been teasing about a move to MMA for the past couple of mon…

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz points out what he thinks are Floyd Mayweather’s keys to victory in an MMA fight.

Retired undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been teasing about a move to MMA for the past couple of months now. His most recent update was that he has begun applying for an MMA license already.

Floyd Jr. also gave himself a timeline of six to eight months to be ready for everything in a cage fight, and is reportedly seeking the guidance of welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Former 135-pound champion Dominick Cruz agrees with this move, since he believes all Mayweather needs to do to win an MMA fight is to learn to prevent the action from going to the mat.

“If Floyd Mayweather can stop everyone in the UFC from taking him down, he has a chance of winning,” Cruz told TMZ Sports. “Six to eight months isn’t gonna be enough. That’s just the way it is, I’m sorry.”

“Because he’s only got two tools. He doesn’t have the other eight. He doesn’t have grappling, he doesn’t have kicks, he doesn’t have knee and elbow strikes,” Cruz added. “And if he’s lucky, he can learn to defend a takedown in eight months, and that’s just real.”

In the end, Cruz advised Mayweather to focus on his takedown defense in that period of training that he has given himself.

“Focus on your takedown defense, no matter who you’re fighting,” Cruz said. “Don’t worry about nothing else, Floyd Mayweather. Just takedown defense.”

According to Woodley, he can get Mayweather ready for an MMA fight in 2-3 months, with just two or three weeks of those for training kicks.