Floyd Mayweather Jr. Going MMA?

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Floyd Mayweather Jr., the world's No. 1 boxer, is strongly considering a revolutionary jump to mixed martial arts under a deal being discussed with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's adviser and best friend, told ESPN.com Friday night that the five-division world champion, who generated 3.25 million pay-per-view buys and more than $200 million in revenue in two mega fights in 2007, came away from a Thursday meeting with Cuban giving serious thought to taking his game and considerable drawing power to MMA.

"It's definitely something he is interested in, and when Floyd makes his move, obviously it's going to be a mega event," Ellerbe said. "We don't have a timetable. Floyd is taking some time off, but Floyd understands what is involved. You have to take time to go out and understand what you're getting involved in, and he's ready to do that. But it's something he's definitely interested in doing.

"Mark Cuban is a very successful business man and has some very, very successful business ventures that we've discussed. We're looking to do a lot of business with Mark. He's a great guy, and we had a great meeting. Doing an MMA event with him is most definitely something we are looking at, among many things we are looking at doing with Mark Cuban."

Mayweather's interest in participating in an MMA event was sparked after he struck up a friendship with Cuban during their participation this season as contestants on the ABC reality series "Dancing with the Stars."

Cuban was Mayweather's guest at the fight and even carried two of his championship belts into the ring before he knocked out England's Ricky Hatton to retain the welterweight world championship Dec. 8 in Las Vegas.

Mayweather and Cuban were together again Thursday in Las Vegas, where they met to discuss various business ventures, including Mayweather participating in an MMA event.

A few boxers, such as former heavyweight contenders Ray Mercer and Frans Botha, have attempted to compete in mixed martial arts with little success. Mayweather's entrance would bring it to another level, especially at a time when the sports have been pitted against each other by fans and media -- MMA as the hotshot newcomer trying to overtake the century-old, more traditional sweet science.

One of Cuban's many business interests is ownership of HDNet Fights, a fledgling mixed martial arts promotional company whose bouts are aired on Cuban's HDNet. Cuban promoted his second event Dec. 15 in Dallas.

"Floyd is considering fighting with HDNet Fights," Cuban told ESPN.com. "We are going to let him visit some gyms to talk to some folks about what it would take to learn. He knows it won't be easy. But he is getting involved with MMA and HDNet Fights one way or another. He is pumped about it. He wants to go on to the next big thing. Floyd is a brilliant marketer. He follows the money."

Indeed, Mayweather, like Cuban, knows how to make money. Mayweather, 30, won the year's two biggest fights, a decision against Oscar De La Hoya in May in a fight that shattered all boxing revenue records and a 10th-round knockout of Hatton that did 850,000 buys and $47 million in television revenue on HBO PPV.

Mayweather-De La Hoya, with 2.4 million buys, set the all-time PPV record. Mayweather-Hatton was the biggest PPV fight in history not involving De La Hoya or heavyweights Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.

Mayweather earned about $50 million for the two fights.

"If I said there's a guaranteed $30 million payday, Floyd would be lacing them up," Cuban said, optimistic that Mayweather would eventually participate in an MMA match. "If not, I could see him working to train and develop and invest in MMA fighters, knowing the upside. He can teach them how to be a better boxer and add to their other skills."

After each of his last three fights, Mayweather has talked about retirement or, at least, an extended break. Ellerbe said Mayweather is on vacation now but that when he returns, they'll discuss the prospect of an MMA bout in more detail.

"Floyd is about taking on challenges," Ellerbe said. "This ain't some kind of prank. That is one of many things we've talked about with Mark. Floyd would have to take time to really understand it, but it is most definitely something he is interested in."
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3165552
 
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He'd be a presence of publicity in that sport I guess.

I wonder if he'd ever do UFC.
 
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i read about this before. it would be a huge mistake if floyd jumped into the ufc right away. the ufc could feed him easy fights at first, but a place like hdnet fights is a better place for him to start off. i saw the last hdnet fights card and it was very good. it obviously wasn't ufc level but if they bring in floyd it will bring legitimacy to them as a promoter. mark cuban has the money to make floyd in mma a reality, but if floyd doesn't train how he has to train he will get owned. hdnet fights is a good place to start off an mma career though, hopefully it happens.
 
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Don't worry about Floyd, F-Man. He knows Dim Mak.

I'd rather see Floyd make a name for himself as a trainer for mma fighters, but he still has blood lust so he'll probably fight at least once. I'm just hoping they don't cripple him in the process, or worse yet, make him fight some dude they pulled off the street, or even worse, Butterbean.
 
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not the dim mak thing again, heh.

i wouldn't worry about floyd being crippled in his first mma fight. I can guarantee they'd give him an opponent with no wrestling or submission skills. they'd probably give him a striker with very limited experience. floyd will get a fight that favors his style for sure.
 
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i guess he already has the body strength he needs, he will need to practice kicks, and some grapples/throws. but his distance to travel isn't that far. lets face it, if he catches someone with a left hook, they are going down.
 
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i guess he already has the body strength he needs, he will need to practice kicks, and some grapples/throws. but his distance to travel isn't that far. lets face it, if he catches someone with a left hook, they are going down.
if anyone gets hit with a left hook cleanly they have a great chance of going down, heh.

why would a world class boxer wanna learn how to throw people? the only thing mayweather needs to learn is how to prevent people from taking him down, and he needs to learn some submission defense. he'll have to add some kicks and knees to his game or atleast know how to defend kicks and knees to survive in MMA striking. i dont see mayweather learning how to choke people out with gogoplatas or taking people down with some wrestling or judo throws. he'll adapt mma to his boxing game, not the other way around.

i also disagree with you saying the distance he needs to travel isnt that long. in boxing most of your weight is on your legs because you put everything into your punches. if he comes out with a boxing mindset in MMA he'll be taken down very quickly because his own weight is being used against him. boxers put all there weight on there legs so they can pivot off their legs to get more power in their punches, that wont serve him well in MMA. fighting in a cage will also throw off his game compared to the ring, he's used to making angles by using the corner of the rings as a guide. most cages in MMA are circular so its harder to work angles. you also cant really slip punches like in boxing because it will expose you to being taken down. another problem is is that floyd is used to covering up by putting the gloves infront of his face. this won't work in MMA because the gloves are much smaller, and punches will get through your guard. another thing that worries me about floyd in MMA are his hands. he was worried about hurting his hands in boxing, his worry will be much greater in MMA with those 4 ounce gloves. i dont see floyd ever throwing full power in his punches in MMA because he'll fear hurting his hands.

floyd is the best boxer in the world at this point in time and he is a world class athlete for sure. i dont wanna make it seem like i'm bashing him, but he'll need to adjust everything he does to be a success in MMA.

also to whoever asked if flyod would fight in the ufc, he probably wouldnt. floyd would most likely fight in the 145 poundclass and the ufc doesnt have that weight class. they could always make the exception i guess or create the class, but currently the 145 class is big in an organization called the wec. the people who own the ufc own the wec, so its basically the same exact thing.
 

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