Floyd Mayweather potentially going to UFC to fight in mixed martial arts has been a big topic this week, originally stemming from comments he made on Instagram last week, when he said he could make another billion dollars if he chose to return to active competition in the Octagon.
But in an interview posted to YouTube by FightHype, the 40-year-old Mayweather, who retired (again) from boxing after an August 26 win over UFC’s Conor McGregor, says he’s not going to do it.
“They talk about, ‘Oh, yeah, Floyd said he’s fighting in the UFC for a billion dollars.’ That’s not what I said. Exactly what I said is this: I made a billion dollars before. If I made over a billion dollars before, I could do it again,” Mayweather said.
“If I chose to get in UFC and fight three fights, or fight four fights, and then fight Conor McGregor, I could make a billion dollars. Which I can. I could do it in three fights, or even four fights, I could make a billion dollars. If I choose to get in the Octagon and fight.”
At least in this clip, Mayweather is conveniently ignoring that the biggest reason people are talking about this, however, is not the comments he made at first. Since then, there have been reports of actual discussions between UFC and Mayweather. He doesn’t address that talk.
Mayweather also denied that he’s looking to get back into boxing.
“We just don’t know what the future holds for Floyd Mayweather. I don’t look forward to get back into a boxing ring. That’s what I don’t look forward to doing,” he said. “So I’m just saying I could. I’m not doing it, but I’m saying, what I could do, to make a billion dollars quick, if I wanted to do that. That’s what I was saying. I never said I was going to fight in UFC.”
Asked why comeback talk keeps popping up, the fact that Mayweather has repeatedly dropped comeback hints wasn’t discussed.
“I keep ‘em talking. I don’t care if they talk bad. Just talk. Just write about me. I’m somethign to write about, I’m something to talk about,” he said. “This is the same fighter that never weighed 154, but they’re begging me to go to 160. At 40 years old! I’m about to turn 41 years old! They want me to go to 160, and I never weighed 154.”
Will Mayweather fight again? That remains to be seen. If he does it in boxing, he’ll be Floyd Mayweather — an older Floyd Mayweather, sure, but it’s not like he’s been getting close to losing fights or anything.
If he were to do it in UFC, it’s a whole other world, a sport he’s not properly prepared for, especially at the UFC level. Would UFC do it? Absolutely. If there’s room for an ancient James Toney and a guy who’s never competitively fought before like CM Punk, there’s room for Floyd Mayweather.
But Mayweather has been known to take only calculated risks as his star has grown. He says he’s become an icon, and he’s right. Unless he’s really lost his marbles, the smart money is not on him risking that status so that people on the internet can laugh about him being choked out in 45 seconds by Gray Maynard or Clay Guida.