The rumors about Floyd Mayweather Jr. joining the UFC are apparently true, with Dana White confirming this week that the undefeated boxing champ is ready to try his hand at mixed martial arts.
Mayweather had teased the idea about making the jump to the UFC during the lead-up to his boxing match against UFC star Conor McGregor, but the idea wasn’t taken too seriously at the time. Now, there is some real movement behind the rumors and White said that talks are actually moving forward for a match.
“We’re talking to Floyd about doing a UFC deal,” 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 sh*t ends up happening.”
White noted that after they were able to pull off the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight earlier this year, “anything is possible.”
The move could be incredibly lucrative to Floyd Mayweather Jr. As Boxing Scene noted, Mayweather mentioned in a recent interview that he had discussions with White and the UFC about a multi-fight deal that he said could be worth “a billion dollars.” With Mayweather commanding hundreds of millions of dollars for boxing matches, that figure would not be outlandish to pull the undefeated boxer out of retirement once again, boxing pundits note.
The Mayweather vs. McGregor bout generated more than 6 million pay-per-view buys worldwide and grossed more than $600 million, similar to numbers for Mayweather’s bout against Manny Pacquiao in 2015.
Floyd Mayweather In Talks for UFC Fight, Dana White Says https://t.co/eyMRvzRnkB
— TMZ (@TMZ) December 20, 2017
There had been little idea that Floyd Mayweather Jr. would return to the boxing ring. He reached the 50-0 mark with the win over McGregor, and many experts noted that Mayweather was starting to show his age a bit and likely would struggle against more seasoned fighters at this point in his career. A move to the UFC would give him a clean slate and likely some flexible expectations — much like what McGregor found in his boxing debut — as well as a chance to market himself to a new audience.
Dana White did not elaborate on exactly when Floyd Mayweather Jr. could make his UFC debut or if he might be facing Conor McGregor.
