Floyd Mayweather Jr. could potentially come out of retirement for a rematch against Conor McGregor, but the fight may not take place where everyone would expect it to.
On Wednesday, UFC president Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamato that he has had discussions with Mayweather about the undefeated boxing champion potentially fighting in the Octagon.
“We’re talking to Floyd about doing a UFC deal,” White said. “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.”
While the idea sounds extremely far-fetched, White was quick to point out that the same was said about Mayweather’s boxing match against McGregor before it actually happened.
“We’re interested in doing something with Floyd. Everything is a realistic possibility,” he added. “Mayweather vs. McGregor f—ing happened. Anything is possible.”
Mayweather got the UFC buzz off and running earlier this month, when he said during a live social media stream that UFC officials have reached out to him. The 15-time champion speculated that he could make $1 billion by signing with the UFC.
“They just called me not too long ago and asked me to come back,” Mayweather said. “I can come right back. If I wanted to, I can come right back to the UFC. I can go fight in the Octagon. I can do a three- or four-fight deal in the Octagon and make a billion dollars. Remember, I’m Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.”
Okamoto notes that there would be serious obstacles to Mayweather fighting McGregor in a UFC setting, as the two are in different weight classes and Mayweather would face an even bigger disadvantage in the cage than McGregor faced in the boxing ring.
No matter how crazy the numbers were surrounding Mayweather’s boxing match with McGregor, it still seems insane to think a 40-year-old with no MMA experience is going to fight in the UFC. We wouldn’t count on it happening.
