Floyd Mayweather Already Confident in His MMA Skills Ahead of Potential UFC Crossover
Floyd Mayweather is undoubtedly one of the greatest boxers of all time but apparently he’s also quietly been tucking away some serious skills for mixed martial arts as well.
The 41-year old boxer has continuously teased the possibility that he would crossover into MMA, most likely for a mega payday against his old friend Conor McGregor, who he defeated in a boxing match last year.
Just recently, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley even said that he had been in contact with Mayweather about training him to get ready for a MMA contest and felt like he’d only need a few months to prepare him for the Octagon.
While even Mayweather feels like that might be a little bit too much, too soon, he’s certainly not lacking confidence when it comes to the skills he possesses outside of his world class boxing acumen.
“I’ll probably need a little bit longer [than three months]. A little bit longer. Even if it takes six to eight months, whatever it takes, we just want to make sure everything is done correctly, and everything is done the right way,” Mayweather told TMZ Sports.
“I can wrestle. My wrestling game is not that bad. On a scale from one to 10, I would say it’s probably a seven. I think we can take it up to a nine, if possible. Of course my hand game, on a scale of one to 10, it’s 100. The kicking game, on a scale from one to 10, it’s probably a four. We have to tweak a few things to take things to the next level.”
Mayweather didn’t mention submissions but that’s certainly one area he’d need to know for any matchup he might receive in the UFC, much less stepping into the Octagon against the lightweight champion of the world in McGregor.
While he hasn’t actually started training yet, Mayweather has been in contact with Woodley about setting up some sessions to work together so he could prepare for a fight in the UFC.
“I’m going to start soon,” Mayweather said. “We’ve been texting back and forth. We talked a couple times so we’re going to start working out real soon.
“I can’t overlook or knock any MMA guy. Tyron is unbelievable – unbelievable fighter, tough competitor. Conor McGregor, he’s a tough competitor, a hell of a fighter. There’s a lot of tough, rugged guys out there in the MMA. I can’t overlook or disrespect those guys.”
As far as actually getting a deal done to compete in the UFC, Mayweather seems to believe that won’t be a problem either. Considering Mayweather is used to nine-figure paydays in boxing, he feels like the UFC would offer him the right kind of money to entice him out of retirement and into the Octagon.
“It’s all about presenting the right numbers,” Mayweather said. “Of course, they’re going to present the right numbers and we going to make it happen.”
