Thoughts on the "Floyd in MMA" scuttlebutt

by SC on Dec 22, 2007 5:14 PM EST in News Analysis Comment 4 comments

...what?

OK, let's not even pretend. It's a publicity stunt. Mark Cuban, who was on "Dancing with the Stars" with Mayweather, is trying his hand at promoting MMA with his HDNet company. By getting Floyd Mayweather's name attached at a time when Mayweather is one of the world's hottest sports stars -- 850,000 buys for Mayweather-Hatton was not, as Kid Nate at Bloody Elbow described it, "very disappointing" in any way -- Cuban is buying himself attention in a sport that has one true ruling promotion and lots of second- and third-tier promotions that help the big boys and the sport in general be as good as they are.

Cuban's idea, really, is to come right in and very quickly be a competitor to UFC. It won't work, because this isn't a basketball team he bought and made a contender because he had the cash to do so. Who would Mayweather fight, if you even want to give this the slightest chance of actually happening? Nate at BE is right, it would be a tomato can or a completely one-dimensional, not especially skilled grappler. Someone that Floyd could catch coming in with a left hook.

As an aside, I do think that with real training and time put in, Floyd Mayweather is a guy that could actually be fairly successful. He is a marvelous athlete who works hard to be as great as he is.

But it won't happen. Mayweather is also using this just to keep his name in the news as the new Face of Boxing. Good for him, good for Cuban, but it's a waste of time for most of us. Floyd Mayweather is not going to go into mixed martial arts.

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Yeah

You beat me to this post by about two minutes Scott. My sentiments match yours--a blatant publicity stunt. Even if he did fight some cherry picked MMA fighter, that too would be a publicity stunt. And I actually think that could happen as a one time thing. I can see Mayweather fighting a gamed fight in an effort to pull in fans from the MMA to buy his next boxing PPV.

All in all, though, I think this was a smart move and one that will be good for boxing. Aside from events that get boxers arrested, anything that keeps boxing in the media spotlight is probably a good thing right now. Floyd is seizing his window of opportunity following a stellar year--he is keeping that window onto himself longer with a smart, if transparent, PR move.

I don't read MMA blogs much, but I bet at this moment there are hordes of fans posting their sentiments regarding how Mayweather would get destroyed by a fighter with a competent ground game. Many MMA fans appreciate opportunities to suggest that their fighters are tougher than boxers. Floyd is playing these people for marketing purposes.

by Matt Miller on Dec 22, 2007 5:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ridiculous...

This is just stupid. Of course Mayweather would be destroyed by any of their fighters in an MMA match, just as any MMA fighter would get trounced by Pretty Boy in a boxing match. What I don't get is how Floyd would even be able to make it through an MMA match with those tender hands of his. If he can get hurt in a boxing match with boxing gloves on, what does he think will happen if he goes into the Octagon with those little ass gloves on?

by erod on Dec 22, 2007 10:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

re:

It all depends on who he fights. If it's a guy completely set up to be knocked out in the stand-up game, then Floyd wins, and yay boxing! If it's a credible fighter with well-rounded skills that gets him to the ground, goodnight, Floyd.

It reminds me of Kermit Cintron claiming he'd fight Sean Sherk under MMA rules. Sherk was, like, the worst possible guy to call out. Explosive takedowns? Yeah, Kermit, go after that. Idiot.

by SC on Dec 23, 2007 2:41 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Floyd...

Thanks for this post, Scott. When I read about this, I thought about posting about it too. It isn't every day that a boxer (or anything relating to boxing) is among the top news stories on ESPN (which doesn't even cover MMA...do they?). But I agree: it's a publicity stunt. It's not going to happen. And if it does, it will probably all be staged.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 23, 2007 12:33 AM EST reply actions 0 recs