UFC Champ Tyron Woodley Could Have Floyd Mayweather Ready for MMA in 2.5 Months

Floyd “Money” Mayweather jumping into MMA would, naturally, be huge money for everyone involved.
Even with a transition still in a hypothetical stage, people across the sport are looking to get a slice of the action. One person jumping into the th…

Floyd “Money” Mayweather jumping into MMA would, naturally, be huge money for everyone involved.

Even with a transition still in a hypothetical stage, people across the sport are looking to get a slice of the action. One person jumping into the thick of it is UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, and if anyone thinks that he’s resistant to an outsider crossing over into his turf, well, think again. He wants to join The Money Team.

Speaking during his regular TMZ Sports segment, Hollywood Beatdown, Woodley discussed his previous interactions with Mayweather, and how he’s already working with boxing’s pay-per-view king.

“I saw him at the Jordan party during (NBA) All-Star weekend,” he said (h/t MMAFighting.com for the transcription). “We started chatting about training MMA and we decided let’s connect, let’s hook up in Vegas and do some training and get him ready for MMA.”

Rumors of Mayweather transitioning to MMA have been swirling since December, kicked off by UFC President Dana White, who teased the possibility of Mayweather competing in the Octagon. While Mayweather initially denied those rumors, a series of social media posts by Money reignited the discussion. 

Outside of a short video showing Mayweather simply stepping into a cage, however, there has been no real information on any sort of MMA training. Woodley, however, was resoundingly positive on Mayweather, stating that he could have him ready to compete in “maybe two and a half months” and that he and The Money Team are “already getting it set up.” As for how well Mayweather could do on day one?

 

Floyd Mayweather‘s one of the best strikers of all-time,” he said. “How many guys in the UFC that can’t wrestle and can’t grapple that consider themselves a standup fighter, but they have to stand across one of the greatest strikers ever, they gonna be in a world of smoke.”

Fans shouldn’t start booking flights to Las Vegas quite yet. Even if things are moving in a positive direction, a Mayweather MMA bout would still be a long way off.

Still, with this much smoke, it’s getting harder and harder to believe there isn’t a fire.

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Floyd Mayweather Teases MMA Bout with ‘Certified B—h’ Conor McGregor

MMA in 2017 was defined by Conor McGregor’s boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. And 2018? Well, things are moving in a pretty similar direction.
Discussion and teases about a Mayweather move to MMA have been a steady part of the combat sports news cycl…

MMA in 2017 was defined by Conor McGregor’s boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. And 2018? Well, things are moving in a pretty similar direction.

Discussion and teases about a Mayweather move to MMA have been a steady part of the combat sports news cycle over the last few months. The latest example? An interesting (and NSFW) tweet from Money that dropped early Sunday morning:

For those who missed it, the Mayweather-to-MMA rumor mill began churning in 2017 when longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan discussed how Mayweather was in negotiations with the UFC in regards to competing in the Octagon. UFC President Dana White later confirmed Rogan’s claims, only to have Mayweather pour water on the topic by flatly denying everything.

The topic came back with gusto in January, however, when Mayweather posted a video on Twitter that showed him stepping into an MMA cage. While it initially seemed like the post was simply a publicity stunt for one of his sponsors, Irish betting site Paddy Power, the hints haven’t stopped in the weeks since.

Whether this is anything more than Mayweather trying to keep his name in the headlines is unclear at this time. Transitioning to MMA would likely go very poorly for the 40-year-old boxer, who lacks the grappling experience to compete with even low-level mixed martial artists. That said, a rematch with McGregor in the cage also likely represents the biggest payday available at this time while also leaving his 50-0 record intact regardless of the outcome.

This tweet doesn’t necessarily swing the odds in one direction or the other, but it certainly keeps this rivalry going.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr, Conor McGregor Rematch Talks Reportedly Ongoing

According to renowned boxing journalist Gareth A Davies, negotiations are ongoing for a rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, with the fight taking place inside the octagon, rather than the boxing ring.
Rumou…

According to renowned boxing journalist Gareth A Davies, negotiations are ongoing for a rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, with the fight taking place inside the octagon, rather than the boxing ring.

Rumours of an MMA bout between the two have been swirling for some time, and Davies told TalkSport‘s Jim White his sources say the negotiations are taking place:

“My soundings are that there are a lot of talks going on in the background, there are a lot of talks around people with Mayweather.

“There are a lot of talks about him potentially having an MMA fight with Conor McGregor.

“Conor McGregor had no chance in a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

‘People will tune in to see Mayweather get stopped by Conor McGregor and it won’t affect his boxing record.

“I think it’s going to happen and I think it will be a three, four, five hundred million dollar fight again.”

Mayweather has previously denied rumours he was considering fighting in MMA, per MMA Weekly, but he has also hinted at the move―most recently via social media:

McGregor has made it clear he wants the rematch to happen, via TMZ Sports.

The two met inside a boxing ring in August 2017, with Mayweather extending his perfect record to 50-0 via a stoppage in the 10th round. McGregor, who had never boxed as a professional before, put together a remarkably good performance for an inexperienced boxer, and his positive showing immediately led to rumours of a rematch.

The Notorious hasn’t fought in the UFC since 2016, when he won the lightweight title off Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. MMA fans are eagerly anticipating his next move, as there are several high-profile challengers in the lightweight division, including interim champion Tony Ferguson and his next opponent, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Mayweather came out of retirement to face McGregor and immediately retired again after their bout. Given his age―he’s 40 years old―and the fact he owns Mayweather Promotions, one of the most lucrative promotion firms in the sport, most pundits don’t believe he’ll take the risk of switching to MMA, where he would face one of the most skilled fighters in the UFC.

UFC legend Michael Bisping spoke on his Believe You Me podcast (via the Mirror‘s Martin Domin) to express his doubts regarding Mayweather’s potential move to MMA:

“I honestly can’t see Floyd Mayweather fighting mixed martial arts and certainly [not] in the UFC. If he does fight in the UFC it’s going to be against Conor McGregor.

“Conor McGregor in an MMA fight will f–king destroy Floyd Mayweather like he’s never seen.

“It takes so long to learn—so long to put the pieces of the puzzle together, so long to learn the grappling the transitions from the striking to the grappling.”

Davies disagrees, however, citing the enormous payday potentially on offer. If the two could smash MMA’s pay-per-view records to the point of several hundred million dollars, it would certainly provide a huge incentive.  

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Michael Bisping, Oscar De La Hoya Talk Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather Rematch

 
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and former six-weight boxing world champion Oscar De La Hoya have had their say on the possibility of Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. fighting in the UFC, and the pair are both scepti…

 

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and former six-weight boxing world champion Oscar De La Hoya have had their say on the possibility of Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. fighting in the UFC, and the pair are both sceptical it will happen.

The former spoke on his podcast, Believe You Me, and cannot envision it happening, though he believes it would be a completely one-sided affair if it did. 

According to the Mirror‘s Martin Domin, Bisping said:

“I honestly can’t see Floyd Mayweather fighting mixed martial arts and certainly [not] in the UFC. If he does fight in the UFC it’s going to be against Conor McGregor.

“Conor McGregor in an MMA fight will f–king destroy Floyd Mayweather like he’s never seen.

“It takes so long to learn—so long to put the pieces of the puzzle together, so long to learn the grappling the transitions from the striking to the grappling.

“Conor McGregor would literally have a field day with Floyd Mayweather.”

De La Hoya is in agreement that Money will not be setting foot in an Octagon. Per TMZ Sports, he said: “Floyd, you know him and his attention, he can’t let anybody else have attention, so he does this. He’ll never fight.”

Mayweather hinted he could cross over into MMA with a video he posted on social media:

Showtime executive Steven Espinoza confirmed to TMZ Sports he and Mayweather would be discussing the possibility:

McGregor and Mayweather fought in a crossover in August last year, with The Notorious making his professional boxing debut and Money coming out of retirement to compete.

Mayweather, 40, extended his record to 50 fights unbeaten as he knocked out the UFC lightweight champion, albeit it took him 10 rounds to do so against the Irishman.

If the American were to move into MMA, it would perhaps be an even more sensational switch.

Journalist Ariel Helwani discussed the prospect of a rematch between the pair with the MMA Beat panel, per MMAFighting.com:

Bisping’s assessment of how Mayweather would fare appears to be accurate.

Bridging the skill gap was a virtually impossible task for McGregor to do as he moved into boxing, and it would be even more difficult for Mayweather to do the same going the other way given the variety of skills required in MMA, from grappling to kicking to takedowns.

Money would have almost no hope of upsetting a man 11 years his junior on his home turf, but the sheer prospect of witnessing him in the Octagon could hold appeal to many, even if the pair would not be able to produce an engaging contest.

Despite the near certainty of his defeat, Mayweather would not be putting his boxing record on the line, though, so that may not matter that much to him if the payout would be big enough.

That is likely to be the key to whether the fight takes place, but in the meantime, Mayweather’s teasing of it will only increase the hype.  

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Rogan: Floyd Mayweather ‘Legitimately’ Discussing Fight in UFC

The rumors regarding Floyd Mayweather Jr. making a run in MMA just keep on getting louder. The latest example? Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan recounting some interesting conversations he had with UFC President Dana White on his podcast, T…

The rumors regarding Floyd Mayweather Jr. making a run in MMA just keep on getting louder. The latest example? Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan recounting some interesting conversations he had with UFC President Dana White on his podcastThe Joe Rogan Experience (warning, NSFW language). 

“Floyd talked about it, apparently,” he said Tuesday. “This is one thing I can tell you, Dana told me that Floyd wants to make a deal in the UFC. Like legitimately. So I texted him ‘is Floyd really talking about fighting in MMA?’ And he goes ‘yeah, he’s f–king crazy, I told him he’d get killed but he’s still talking about doing it.'”

At face value, this wouldn’t raise much of an eyebrow as Rogan and White are known to embellish to almost comical degrees. That said, it comes at an interesting time for Mayweather.

Money, last seen in the boxing ring in August opposite UFC fighter Conor McGregor, has been teasing a return since October. But while there’s little doubt that Mayweather remains a major pay-per-view draw, there are few low-risk, high-reward options out there at this time.

Mayweather’s 2015 bout with Andre Berto reportedly tallied between 400,000 and 550,000 pay-per-view buys, the lowest since his rise to stardom in 2007, which casts doubt on whether a squash match would be worth his time. On the flipside, while matches with top boxing stars such as Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin or Vasyl Lomachenko might do strong numbers, Mayweather would likely open as an underdog against any of them. 

A move to the UFC, and an MMA rematch with McGregor in particular, would leave his boxing legacy untarnished while also potentially offering him the largest paycheck available. That, of course, is what matters most to Mayweather, and that fact isn’t lost on him.

“You already know I’m a money-getting motherf–ker,” Mayweather said last week (h/t Ryan Harkness of MMAMania.com). “I’m Money May. They just called me not too long ago and asked me to come back … I can do a three or four-fight deal in the Octagon and make a billion dollars.”

That said, it’s far too early for fans to start planning a trip to Las Vegas for Mayweather vs. McGregor 2. While UFC ownership and The Money Team managed to come together for one match, it’s likely they won’t be able to do it again.

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Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor Final Showtime PPV Buys Rank 2nd All Time

The August bout between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor brought in a head-turning number of viewers.
On Thursday, Brian Campbell of CBS Sports reported Showtime Sports confirmed there were 4.3 million pay-per-view buys for the fight between one of …

The August bout between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor brought in a head-turning number of viewers.

On Thursday, Brian Campbell of CBS Sports reported Showtime Sports confirmed there were 4.3 million pay-per-view buys for the fight between one of the all-time great boxers in Mayweather and career MMA fighter McGregor.

According to Campbell, the total was the second-highest in history, falling short of only the 4.6 million pay-per-view buys for the 2015 fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

That Mayweather is involved in the two best-selling pay-per-view boxing matches is no surprise considering his role as the best fighter of a generation. He emerged from the fight against McGregor in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena with a 10th-round technical knockout, which pushed his sparkling record to 50-0 in his career.

McGregor hung tough in the early going of his first professional boxing match and even landed a notable uppercut on Mayweather. However, Money seized control by the middle rounds and unleashed an offensive barrage in the 10th round to win the fight.

While McGregor lost the fight and was overmatched, he also performed admirably against such a formidable foe, suggesting his foray into boxing will last more than one fight.

Pacquiao recently said he was open to negotiations with McGregor for an April fight, per the Agence France-Presse (via Yahoo).

It likely wouldn’t sell as many pay-per-views as their respective bouts with Mayweather considering the undefeated boxer wouldn’t be involved and the novelty of McGregor trying boxing would have worn off, but it would involve two of the biggest names in combat sports.

 

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