Looks like former longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has a bone to pick with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Check out what the pound-for-pound great had to say about “Money” during an interview with Sway Calloway on…
Looks like former longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has a bone to pick with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Check out what the pound-for-pound great had to say about “Money” during an interview with Sway Calloway on Sway in the Morning (YouTube channel Sway’s Universe):
Boxers have the great story. I respect for boxing. Floyd Mayweather? I don’t know this guy. Is he Papa Smurf? Mayweather is good boxing. This is my opinion. The guy no respect me. I respect all the guys in the world. Mayweather is a part of this story in the world. I’m part of the sport in the world. Mayweather need to respect this, but this guy no respect nothing. Sorry, but I no respect Mayweather.
The latest news should come as no surprise, considering Mayweather said he didn’t know who “The Spider” is in an interview with EsNews last month.
Despite a disappointing knockout loss at the hands of new 185-pound kingpin Chris Weidman at UFC 162 last month, many still consider the Brazilian knockout artist the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
Prior to the loss, Silva had won an incredible 17 straight bouts, 16 of which occurred inside the Octagon, also setting the UFC middleweight record of 10 consecutive successful title defenses.
While naysayers have knocked the 38-year-old’s strength of competition during that roughly seven-year time frame, Silva notched stoppage wins over the likes of Rich Franklin (twice), Dan Henderson, ChaelSonnen (twice), YushinOkami and VitorBelfort.
Silva will have a chance to avenge the devastating loss to “The All-American” at UFC 168, with the rematch set to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., Dec. 28.
Conversely, the 36-year-old Mayweather has been going strong inside the ring since October of 1996 and is a five-division world champion with an incredible 44-0 professional record.
His next challenge will be light middleweight stud Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who boasts a 42-0-1 record of his own despite being just 23 years old.
Alvarez’s WBC and The Ring light middleweight titles will be on the line, while Mayweather will defend his WBA (super) light middleweight strap.
That showdown also takes place at the MGM Grand and is just a couple weeks away, with the event set for Sept. 14.
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
It’s time for the bleeding hearts who are beating the drum for poor mixed martial artists to dig a hole somewhere and jump in it.
The cries of fighters being unable to feed their families, train properly, and remain competitive in the harsh world of pr…
It’s time for the bleeding hearts who are beating the drum for poor mixed martial artists to dig a hole somewhere and jump in it.
The cries of fighters being unable to feed their families, train properly, and remain competitive in the harsh world of professional combat need to stop.
Grown-up men and women are making suitable choices in a business for grown-ups here. In all honesty, there’s no place for big babies and childish complaints. In particular, it seems odd to complain that it doesn’t rain money in the fight game.
There’s even less place for those who claim that boxing is a better paying gig and yet mixed martial artists are getting hosed every time they strap on the gloves.
Get over it. If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.
How do the paragraphs above read?
Akin to something you’d see from Dana White at a press scrum? Much like when a journalist who probably should know better prods him on complaints of an unknown fighter being underpaid.
If those paragraphs aren’t exactly on the money, they’re close. White doesn’t have a lot of time for such questions, considering he’s probably answered the same one in some form or another a million times in the past few years.
And do you know something? He’s 100 percent right.
The UFC pays what it pays. If you go out and perform, you’ll make more money. If you don’t, you won’t. In that regard, it’s an equal opportunity employer.
Nobody forced mixed martial artists to join the trade. If you don’t want to train eight weeks to make $8,000 for eating another person’s shin live on pay-per-view, no one is saying you have to.
And that sure isn’t a call to move to the way boxing does business, despite what some of the more noted squeakywheels on the roster have suggested.
Yes, the top guys in boxing make utterly insane amounts of money. Floyd Mayweather made a guaranteed $32 million to fight Robert Guerrero ($3 million guaranteed) in May.
No, every guy who ever mastered the sweet science has not made the GDP of Jordan just for showing up.
Other disclosed numbers from combatants on the undercard of that Mayweather fight? $165,000, $25,000, $100,000, and $60,000, plus a couple of $375,000 sums for a title fight.
They are all very respectable numbers, but not the type that anyone in the UFC has ever made in the history of the business.
Actually, on the last FOX card—one that was not propped up by the direct revenue stream of pay-per-view—fighters went home with numbers like $58,000 (twice), $84,000, $156,000, $74,000, and $66,000.
Certainly not numbers that are so far behind those of the squared circle that the vociferous pay-related mudslinging to which White is regularly subjected seems justified.
Even more reasonable when one considers that MMA is still, like it or not, a niche sport that simply doesn’t draw the eyes that boxing does. Especially boxing with a Mayweather or Pacquiao on the marquee.
Considering that, it’s even more remarkable that the worst disclosed payday for a fighter on that FOX card was $8,000 while you can’t even find numbers for guys in similar positions on the Mayweather card because they’re so financially irrelevant.
Everyone wants to make more money in this world and combat athletes are no different. They want to make as much as they can, while they can, and they have a short window to make that happen.
But it’s time to stop complaining about what the UFC pays. It’s even more important to stop making comparisons to boxing in the hope of turning things on to that line of thinking – it’s only going to lead to Georges St-Pierre making $25 million to show up while Andy Ogle gets $60 and a parking pass.
Is that really better? No, it’s not.
Sometimes it’s better to sit back and enjoy a sport instead of digging into every corner of it looking for things to complain about.
Long-time UFC commentator Joe Rogan had some harsh words for boxing’s pound-for-pound king, Floyd “Money” Mayweather.
Talking with Inked, a magazine dedicated to all things tattoo, in their August issue, the MMA aficionado had this t…
Long-time UFC commentator Joe Rogan had some harsh words for boxing’s pound-for-pound king, Floyd “Money” Mayweather.
Talking with Inked, a magazine dedicated to all things tattoo, in their August issue, the MMA aficionado had this to say:
MMA for sure is more of a realistic contest, more of a realistic test as far as using the body in martial arts competition. Although not considered a martial art, boxing is really a martial art. It’s a very limited martial art as long as you agree to just box…but in an actual physical fight against someone who’s just a wrestler, you’re going to get killed. Floyd Mayweather would get killed by an average college wrestler. There would be no competition. If you took Floyd Mayweather today and made him fight against your average college wrestler, that college wrestler is going to shoot on him, pick him up, drop him on his head and knock him out. There’s nothing Floyd can do about it…A judo guy would do the same thing to him. A JuJitsu guy would strangle him, no question about it.
The MMA vs. boxing debate has persisted for years, and Mayweather and his outspoken handler, Leonard Ellerbe, have helped fan the flames for years. The two tend to get harsh responses from noteworthy members of the MMA community.
The most famous example of this came in 2009, when Mayweather, while talking with CBS Sports, stated (via Yahoo! Sports): “there’s no white fighters in boxing that’s dominating, so they had to go to something else and start something new.” That sort of story, by the way, has popped up every two or three months for the last four years.
Boxers have had a few chances to ply their trade in the cage in the past. Ray Mercer knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in just nine seconds in 2009. Truer to what Rogan discussed, in 2010, former two-division UFC champion Randy Couture dominated James Toney on the ground en route to a first-round submission victory.
Historically, when practitioners of single combat sports have met head-on, grappling-focused arts have typically beat out those that focus on striking. The original UFC, UFC 1, was dedicated to having fighters from different backgrounds square off. During the event, Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Royce Gracie would make at-the-time 29-5 boxer Art Jimmerson tap and would later beat Dutch kickboxer Gerard Gordeau.
Additionally, a substantial portion of the UFC’s roster over the years have come from either college or high school wrestling backgrounds. A substantially smaller number have come from boxing backgrounds.
While Mayweather is unquestionably the best boxer in the world today, there are few observers who would disagree with Rogan’s assertion. That likely matters very little to “Money,” though, as he continues to rake in tens of millions of dollars each year.
Floyd Mayweather is the top combat sports draw hands down. The undefeated boxer is a showman and masterful performer. The fighters of the UFC could certainly learn a thing or two from him.Love him or hate him, the level of which he has risen cannot be …
Floyd Mayweather is the top combat sports draw hands down. The undefeated boxer is a showman and masterful performer. The fighters of the UFC could certainly learn a thing or two from him.
Love him or hate him, the level of which he has risen cannot be denied, and that is what all combat sports athletes strive to be.
Where UFC fighters can learn the most from Mayweather is in the promotion department.
The UFC’s brand is the most valuable thing attached to a card. That is great for the organization, but it can take away from the fighters themselves. If they make themselves more of a drawing power, they will see more zeros attached to their checks.
Thus far, ChaelSonnen seems to be the first that has truly grasped that fights need to be sold. Some fans have grown tired of his shtick, but the fact remains his talking leads to more interest and more buys.
Mayweather is a master promoter.
“Money” is a polarizing figure that fans either love or love to hate. That polarization makes him a big draw. The fans that dislike him still buy his fights in the hopes that he will lose, but they won’t miss his fight.
His fighting style is not the typical style of a top draw. The defensive master does not knock his opponents out left and right, but rather takes them to Boxing 101 classes for 12 rounds. Fans grow weary round after round, but they continue to come back for more. Why? Because Mayweather knows how to sell himself.
Thanks to HBO’s 24/7 and Showtime’s All Access, Mayweather has been able to let people behind the scenes in the lead-up to the fights.
The UFC has tried this with Primetime, but it has not captured the attention of fans in the same way. Part of that is production, but the other part is fighters not being comfortable with that aspect of the sport.
The UFC fighters that can learn the most from Mayweather are the lighter weight classes. From flyweight to lightweight, those fighters have yet to force themselves to the top of the card with credible drawing power.
Mayweather is similar in stature to those fighters, but he makes himself seem larger than life.
Money is a character that transcends. No one looks at him on television and thinks of him as being a 146-pound boxer. He is a giant. He is a promotional giant. He is not defined by his size. His ability to sell a fight makes him equal to a heavyweight.
The lighter weight classes are still struggling to find an audience in the UFC, and until someone steps up to the plate, they likely will continue to have trouble drawing in the UFC. The organization needs a Mayweather to come along for those divisions. They need a star to sell those fights.
The lighter weights are fun to watch. However, you often have to tune in to the Facebook prelims to watch them.
On the whole, the UFC could do with having a Mayweather figure. They need the promotional assistance. The brand can only carry them so far. Having a huge draw is mutually beneficial.
Who knows, maybe the UFC can bring in Money for a seminar at the next UFC Fighter Summit.
Fresh off a 12-round drubbing of Robert Guerrero earlier in the month, undefeated and outspoken WBC and The Ring welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather has just booked his second fight in a year for the first time in six. Years that is. “Money” will meet WBC and The Ring *light middleweight* champion Saul “El Conelo” Alvarez, a 42-0 Mexican-born boxer who holds 30 knockouts and notable victories over Shane Mosley, Austin Trout, and Jose Cotto to his credit.
Mayweather made the announcement via his Twitter yesterday evening:
Fresh off a 12-round drubbing of Robert Guerrero earlier in the month, undefeated and outspoken WBC and The Ring welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather has just booked his second fight in a year for the first time in six. Years that is. “Money” will meet WBC and The Ring *light middleweight* champion Saul “El Conelo” Alvarez, a 42-0 Mexican-born boxer who holds 30 knockouts and notable victories over Shane Mosley, Austin Trout, and Jose Cotto to his credit.
Mayweather made the announcement via his Twitter yesterday evening:
The bout will be contested at 152 pounds — just 2 pounds under the usual light middleweight limit — and will be for Mayweather’s junior middleweight and welterweight titles, Alvarez’s WBC & The Ring light middleweight titles, and the WBA (super) light middleweight title. Looks like Nate Diaz’s “More divisions, more champions, more superfights” theory can already be considered debunked.
Looks like former longtime UFC middleweight champion 
