The UFC world has advice for Floyd Mayweather amid growing murmurs of a cage match with Conor McGregor: 'I would try to talk him out of it'
- Rumors of a fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor are once again swirling, this time with the two potentially meeting in a UFC bout.
- The MMA world was quick to dismiss Mayweather's chances of beating McGregor in the Octagon.
- While there's still a long way to go until a fight is announced, and the fight still feels extremely unlikely, if the money's right for both men, they've shown in the past that they're ready to put on a show.
Stop me if you've heard this one before - rumors are swirling of a potential mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.
When talk of the two meeting in the boxing ring began, most believed the fight would never happen. But after the financial success of their initial bout, it would be foolish to dismiss the possibility of a rematch, even if the idea of the two meeting in a UFC bout is somehow even more ludicrous than their initial matchup.
Just as McGregor's chances were dismissed by those in the boxing world ahead of their first fight, those who know MMA are not at all high on Mayweather beginning his UFC career in his early 40s.
While Mayweather is a perfect 50-0 in the boxing ring with 27 knockout wins to his name, those with knowledge of the UFC do not like his chances against McGregor in the Octagon. ESPN's Brett Okamoto recently asked several MMA coaches how they would go about training Mayweather, and their responses were less than inspiring for the fighter.
"First, I would try to talk him out of it," said Firas Zahabi of Tristar MMA. "Honestly. I would sit him down and say, 'Listen, man. I know I can make a lot of money training you, but I want to talk you out of it.' If that didn't work, I would bring him to practice and put him through the ropes, and try to gently convince him not to fight MMA."
Still, the early signs of Mayweather moving to the UFC are in place - Mayweather has claimed he will be applying for his MMA license, and says he'll soon begin training with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
Las Vegas odds have even been set for a potential fight in the Octagon between Mayweather and McGregor, with McGregor the understandably heavy favorite at -1000. Mayweather is listed as +650 underdog.
All that said, it still seems extremely unlikely that Mayweather would jump into the world of MMA at 41 years old, especially against one of the best fighters in UFC - commentator Joe Rogan has speculated that a fight between Mayweather and former WWE superstar CM Punk might be a better match.
But McGregor's jump to the boxing ring was almost as unlikely, and it turned into, while not the best, one of the loudest sporting event in all of 2017. If the money is right, there's no telling what could happen.