Conor McGregor crossed over from mixed martial arts to boxing in order to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., and now it sounds like Mayweather, who defeated McGregor back in August, could follow in his opponent’s footsteps and make a transition of his own.
UFC president Dana White told ESPN that Mayweather and UFC are discussing a deal that would see the undefeated boxer compete inside the octagon.
The exact details of a potential deal are unknown, but there’s a real chance of it coming to fruition, according to White, who pointed to the Mayweather-McGregor boxing match as proof that anything can happen.
“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 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.”
This news comes on the heels of Mayweather saying during a live social media Q&A earlier this month that he could fight in UFC on a three- or four-fight deal that would net him a billion dollars.
Mayweather, who improved his professional boxing record to 50-0 with his victory over McGregor, also said in the build-up to that fight that he was open to fighting The Notorious in MMA. It was reasonable to assume at the time that Mayweather simply was talking nonsense to build interest in the much-anticipated boxing match, but perhaps there’s too much money to be made in a deal with UFC.
Of course, even if Mayweather is serious about testing his hand (and feet) in UFC, there’s nothing at this point to suggest he’d eye a fight with McGregor, who currently holds the UFC lightweight title.
