White: McGregor vs. Mayweather MMA talk is real
Dana White: “We’re interested in doing something with Floyd. Everything is a realistic possibility. Mayweather vs. McGregor f***ing happened.”
Rumors have circulated that the greatest boxer of his generation, Floyd Mayweather Jr, is in negotiations to fight in the Octagon, under MMA rules. That has no been confiration from UFC president Dana White.
“We’re talking to Floyd about doing a UFC deal,” said White to ESPN Staff Writer Brett Okamoto. “It’s real. He was talking about 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 s*** ends up happening.
“We’re interested in doing something with Floyd. Everything is a realistic possibility. Mayweather vs. McGregor f***ing happened. Anything is possible.”
“There was no way I thought that 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. 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.”
Getting an MMA fight sanctioned for Floyd may be impossible, even in Nevada. However, there are a couple of possibilities. The most obvious one is a rematch with Conor McGregor, under MMA rules. The justification might be fairness and a reminder that McGregor did far better than expected, so maybe kinda sorta Mayweather might too.
Another intriguing possibility was brought up by the UFC G.O.A.T. Demetrious Johnson.
“I’ll move up 20 pounds to welcome you proper,” wrote ‘Mighty’.
https://twitter.com/MightyMouseUFC/status/943536467090989056
The appeal to the commission here might be two-fold. First, it represents an historic opportunity – the greatest boxer of his generation vs. the greatest MMA fighter of his. And Mayweather boxes at 150 while ‘Mighty’ fights at 125, theoretically evening things to a degree.
And the lure for Mayweather is perfectly evident. He spends more than he makes, and a fight in the Octagon would make him another fortune without jeopardizing his maybe never to be broken 50-0 boxing record.
