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The Floyd Mayweather – Conor McGregor boxing bout was such a success that many are speculating that a second match is going to push through. But this time, it seems that it won’t be inside a boxing ring, but inside a mixed martial arts (MMA) cage, in the Ultimate Fighting Championship to be exact. If you can remember, the Irish man was adamant that he is only going to fight Floyd in his sport. This is good news for combat sports fans across the globe. Sports betting aficionados are probably salivating about the event and perhaps this early are searching the Internet for top boxing betting sites. However, the question still stands: is Floyd serious about his transition to the cage—where “The Notorious” obviously holds a clear advantage—or the other way around? Take a look at the recent (and not so recent) developments and decide for yourself if there’s a possibility or everything’s just a bluff.
Flashback
Flashback after their boxing match, Conor credited the boxer’s performance and mentioned that Floyd gained his respect; so much so, that he thinks that the 50-0 boxing record holder can make a smooth transition to the cage. It is safe to say that all these jumpstarted the Mayweather moving over the MMA scene rumors.
Floyd tweets
On the first week of February, Floyd tweeted an edited photo from himself with a caption “Billion Dollar Man,” wearing a mixed martial arts attire. A couple of days after that, it was followed by another photo captioned “Certified Bitch Killa Vs Certified Bitch.” If you think it’s over, then think again, the build up or trolling continued when the boxing great made another tweet, this time a video of himself going inside an MMA cage. He didn’t say anything about it, but many immediately speculated that it was a direct shot at McGregor, the reigning featherweight champion—he was recently stripped of his lightweight title. To add to the speculation, Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC president Dana White mentioned in December that Floyd was dead serious about his move to the UFC, but the latter eventually refuted the claim.
Conor taunts Floyd
A couple of days later, Conor admitted that he is going to give huge props to Floyd if he crosses over to the UFC and tests himself. He added that Floyd is engaging and so is he and because of this, it’s going to be a fight that sports fans would want to see.
However, if Mayweather is just using the tweets to promote himself even though he’s retired and not actually contemplating of a UFC fight, Conor believes that it’s something that is going to bother him for the rest of his life. He also supplemented the notion with the idea of his boxing counterpart stepping inside the octagon since he went into his game and it’s time for him to do the same.
Floyd gives TMZ interview
The Money Team, led by Floyd Mayweather was leaving the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star in LA when he was asked about Conor’s statement. He answered an “I don’t know” straight-up answer. Many thought it was weird considering many believe that he’s on a PR rampage to boost interest in a potential MMA fight with Conor.
The Tyron Woodley connection
UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley inserted himself to the Floyd – Conor MMA rumors by saying that he is going to train the boxer for an MMA fight. He added that Floyd has what it takes to excel in the mixed martial arts world. In fact, he even took the complement a notch higher by saying that the retired boxer can be a force to reckoned with inside the octagon and even against experienced grapplers. This, as long as he learns how to negate his opponents ground games and force them to stand up with him.
“At the beginning of every round, how does the fight start? Standing up. I have to teach him how to keep it there,” Tyron mentioned. He has a point here. Who can actually outbox a 50-0 professional boxing record holder? Tyron also said that Floyd would only need three to four months for a stand-up fight and six to eight months if wants to throw kicks as well as execute takedowns.
Floyd confirms
In an interview, Floyd later confirmed that he is going to train for a potential UFC debut. He said that he’s going to start training with the Welterweight Champion and they’ve been texting back and forth. He added that he’ll do whatever it takes, even if it takes six to eight months as long as everything is going to be correctly. Along the way, he said that he’s not really concerned about his ground game and he’s a pretty good wrestler—in a scale of one to ten a seven—according to him.
His stand up is a different story, though. “Of course my hand game is on the scale to one to ten is a hundred and my kicking game on the scale of one to ten is probably a four, so we have to tweak a few things and take things to that next level,” he added.
Summing up
Now that you’ve read this article, what do you think? Is the Floyd – Conor potential MMA fight serious or a bluff? Skeptics believe that it’s a total waste of time, but others think otherwise. But there’s a little light on the tunnel since if you can recall, Floyd once made a WWE appearance, which makes a UFC appearance possible. But since nothing concrete has been reported, it’s safe to say that everything is pure speculation. But as you can see, a little momentum is picking up and it’s going to be interesting to wait and comprehend how all these develop.
Are you a boxing or MMA fan who’s always checking out updates for the potential rematch? Share us your thoughts about this matter on our comments page.
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