As BoxingScene.com reported late Sunday night, retired former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) told TMZ that he is going to apply for an MMA license.
Mayweather, 41, retired from boxing last August, after snapping a two year layoff with a tenth round stoppage of UFC superstar Connor McGregor, who was ** his debut in boxing.
Since that contest, Mayweather has been teasing the public - through photos and video - that he's mulling the idea of ** his debut in MMA.
Mayweather did not specify when or where he plans to obtain a license, but the state of Nevada would have to be a frontrunner.
"Everything takes time. Eventually, we're gonna apply for the license, and hopefully we can fight," Mayweather told TMZ.
And Mayweather recently accepted an offer to receive top-level MMA training from UFC champion Tyrone Woodley.
"Even if it takes six-to-eight months - whatever it takes. We want to make sure that everything is done correctly and everything is done the right way," Mayweather said.
Once Mayweather revealed that he was planning to secure a licence to compete in MMA, the betting lines were open in Las Vegas.
And McGregor opened up as a 10-1 favorite - if a rematch takes place in the cage.
McGregor, 29, is 21-3-0 in the UFC, but hasn't fought since beating Eddie Alvarez on Nov. 12, 2016 in UFC 205.
Westgate sports book manager John Murray admits that McGregor could have easily opened up as a much bigger favorite.
“I think the price should be much higher, but the public loves to back the underdog in these things so there’s no need to set it real high,” said Murray to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
“I more or less consider the fight to be a ridiculous spectacle, but the bottom line is it would generate more interest and do bigger handle than any other UFC or boxing match on the horizon.”
2023-10-20 16:43:31
