Floyd Mayweather clarifies comments about fighting in UFC after Dana White says they're negotiating
Floyd Mayweather’s boxing career may be over, but could there be a future in mixed martial arts for the undefeated all-time pound-for-pound great?
According to an ESPN report early Wednesday, the UFC and Floyd Mayweather are in discussions that would see the 50-0 boxer try his hand at MMA.
“We’re talking to Floyd about doing a UFC deal,” UFC president Dana White told ESPN. “It’s real. He was talking about [boxing] Conor McGregor. Was that real? Have you heard Floyd talk about many things that aren’t real? He usually tips his hand when he’s in the media, and then that [expletive] ends up happening.”
Later Wednesday though, Mayweather himself gave some clarification on his comments on potentially fighting in the UFC — and he didn’t sound like a man who was serious about venturing into the Octagon.
“They talk about, ‘Floyd said he’s fighting in the UFC for $1 billion.’ That’s not what I said,” Mayweather told FightHype.com. “Exactly what I said is this: If I made over $1 billion before, I could do it again. If I chose to get in the UFC and fight three fights or fight four fights and then fight Conor McGregor, I could make $1 billion. Which I can. I could do it in three fights or even four fights. If I choose to get in the Octagon and fight.
“We just don’t know what the future holds for Floyd Mayweather. And I don’t look forward to getting back in the boxing ring. That’s what I don’t look forward to doing.”
To what extent that Mayweather would be involved hasn’t been determined, but it comes as a shock that the 40-year-old would even consider competing as a mixed martial artist at this stage of his life. But if there’s anything that we know about Floyd Mayweather, it’s that he’ll always compete for the right price.
“We’re interested in doing something with Floyd,” White continued. “Everything is a realistic possibility. Mayweather vs. McGregor [expletive] happened. Anything is possible.”
This comes off the heels of Mayweather telling FightHype that he was discussing a potential deal with the UFC that could be worth “a billion dollars.”
“They just called me not too long ago and asked me to come back,” Mayweather said. “I can come right back. If I wanted to, I can come right back to the UFC. I can go fight in the Octagon. I can do a three- or four-fight deal in the Octagon and make a billion dollars. Remember, I’m Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.”
Although Mayweather has been involved in the top four best selling pay-per-views of all time, there are still a great deal of challenges that would need to be addressed before he stepped into the Octagon. For one, it’s highly unlikely that Mayweather would face McGregor, who he beat via 10th round TKO in August, considering the huge weight disparity between the two. Mayweather is a career 147-pound boxer who doesn’t walk around at a weight much bigger than that. Meanwhile, McGregor is the current 155-pound champion who has fought as high as 170 pounds. It’s not impossible that there could be a catchweight MMA fight. However, to get an MMA fight sanctioned by a commission would prove to be even more difficult considering that Mayweather has no experience whatsoever in MMA and would be at a significant disadvantage in the Octagon.
Nevertheless, we’ve seen strange things happen in combat sports and this would certainly top the list.
“There was no way I thought that [Mayweather-McGregor boxing] fight was going to happen, but when you sit down with a smart guy like [Mayweather adviser] Al Haymon, a very intelligent guy, anything is possible,” White said. “And Floyd, as much as he does the money thing and this and that, Floyd was actually very easy to work with. I was impressed.”
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Inappropriate Snapchat post ends high school QB’s career
• Patriots boot Brady’s longtime trainer from sideline
• Derek Jeter’s disastrous meeting with Marlins’ fans
• NBA icons end decades-long beef in emotional moment
