Floyd Mayweather looks serious in his bid to fight inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship Octagon later this year. The boxing superstar is being linked to a possible rematch with Conor McGregor, but this time in McGregor’s territory. Mayweather is also being linked to former World Wrestling Entertainment star CM Punk.
While facing Mayweather or CM Punk also makes a lot sense for different reasons, Simon Head of MMAjunkie believes that there are better options, competition-wise. Head named Nick Newell as the most ideal option for Mayweather in the event he decides to make the big jump from boxing to mixed martial arts.
Head said that the Mayweather-McGregor rematch is obviously the best option in terms of revenue potential. Their boxing showdown became the second-richest fight in history in terms of viewership. The fight got 4.3 million pay-per-view buys , which is just behind the 4.6 million buys for the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight in 2015, according to Business Insider UK .
A rematch could easily break the record of their first fight because fans are eager to see how Mayweather will fare in an unfamiliar territory. However, Head pointed out that fans will be left disappointed because McGregor will be too much for Mayweather, who has no previous experience inside the Octagon. According to ESPN , McGregor is listed as -1,000 favorite over Mayweather, who recently told TMZ Sports that he is applying for MMA license .
If experience will be the sole basis, facing CM Punk would be an appealing option. The former WWE superstar is also inexperienced inside the Octagon, and suffered a devastating defeat against Mickey Gall in his only MMA fight. Head believes that it would also be a mismatch in favor of Mayweather because of his superior boxing skills.
Head is convinced that if Mayweather really wants to make a splash in his debut, he should face Newell. Money-wise, it has the potential to be big because fans would be intrigued about how Mayweather will perform against an MMA fighter with only one hand. In terms of skills, Mayweather is better in boxing, while Newell has the advantage in wrestling experience. It is also worth noting that a fight against Mayweather could also be Newell’s UFC debut.
Newell looks interested in the fight, reacting to the MMAjunkie report on Twitter. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Mayweather will take a gamble against a relatively unknown fighter. Losing against Newell would have a bigger impact compared to getting defeated by a proven superstar like McGregor.
Hey @FloydMayweather why don’t you give this a RT buddy ol pal https://t.co/RhUQjGDxqR
— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) March 19, 2018
