Floyd Mayweather's recent tease of a UFC contract isn't hot air after all.
After Mayweather claimed he'd been offered a deal that could pay him an eye-popping sum of cash, UFC President Dana White confirmed that, yes, the industry-leading MMA promotion is working on a potential deal to bring the undefeated boxer into the octagon.
"We're talking to Floyd about doing a UFC deal," White told ESPN.com. "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.
"We're interested in doing something with Floyd. Everything is a realistic possibility. Mayweather vs. McGregor (expletive) happened. Anything is possible."
Mayweather tipped his hand about the move one week ago in a Periscope interview with his fans.
"I can come right back," he waid. "If I want to, I can come right back to the UFC. I can go fight in the octagon - I can go and do a three or four-fight deal in the octagon and make $1 billion."
Given the revenue generated by Mayweather's "Money Fight" against Conor McGregor in August, the figure isn't that big of a stretch. The boxing and MMA stars fell just short of breaking the domestic record for pay-per-view buys at 4.3 million (http://mmajunkie.com/2017/12/showti...nor-mcgregor-pay-per-view-buys-north-america0, though White claimed the event shattered the record with a worldwide draw of 6.7 million buys (http://mmajunkie.com/2017/10/dana-w...r-pay-per-view-buys-6-7-million-buys-showtime).
The event also generated over $600 million in revenue between ticket sales, sponsorship and international distribution, Showtime recently announced.
Those figures no doubt play a part in Mayweather's desire to return to competition despite a promise to retire following his win over McGregor. The two also fed speculation of a potential rematch before and after the fight, with Mayweather claiming he could fight the Irish champ in the octagon.
McGregor said Mayweather's lavish lifestyle would likely trigger a rematch at some point in the future. He also claimed Mayweather told him one could take place in the octagon.
The biggest hurdle to putting Mayweather in the cage may not come from the fighters. With no professional MMA experience, the boxer would be at absurd disadvantage against McGregor or any other regular on the UFC's roster. That would make it tough for a safety-minded athletic commission to approve Mayweather for competition.
But as White points out, anything is possible - particularly when large sums are involved.
For more on the UFC's upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
After Mayweather claimed he'd been offered a deal that could pay him an eye-popping sum of cash, UFC President Dana White confirmed that, yes, the industry-leading MMA promotion is working on a potential deal to bring the undefeated boxer into the octagon.
"We're talking to Floyd about doing a UFC deal," White told ESPN.com. "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.
"We're interested in doing something with Floyd. Everything is a realistic possibility. Mayweather vs. McGregor (expletive) happened. Anything is possible."
Mayweather tipped his hand about the move one week ago in a Periscope interview with his fans.
"I can come right back," he waid. "If I want to, I can come right back to the UFC. I can go fight in the octagon - I can go and do a three or four-fight deal in the octagon and make $1 billion."
Given the revenue generated by Mayweather's "Money Fight" against Conor McGregor in August, the figure isn't that big of a stretch. The boxing and MMA stars fell just short of breaking the domestic record for pay-per-view buys at 4.3 million (http://mmajunkie.com/2017/12/showti...nor-mcgregor-pay-per-view-buys-north-america0, though White claimed the event shattered the record with a worldwide draw of 6.7 million buys (http://mmajunkie.com/2017/10/dana-w...r-pay-per-view-buys-6-7-million-buys-showtime).
The event also generated over $600 million in revenue between ticket sales, sponsorship and international distribution, Showtime recently announced.
Those figures no doubt play a part in Mayweather's desire to return to competition despite a promise to retire following his win over McGregor. The two also fed speculation of a potential rematch before and after the fight, with Mayweather claiming he could fight the Irish champ in the octagon.
McGregor said Mayweather's lavish lifestyle would likely trigger a rematch at some point in the future. He also claimed Mayweather told him one could take place in the octagon.
The biggest hurdle to putting Mayweather in the cage may not come from the fighters. With no professional MMA experience, the boxer would be at absurd disadvantage against McGregor or any other regular on the UFC's roster. That would make it tough for a safety-minded athletic commission to approve Mayweather for competition.
But as White points out, anything is possible - particularly when large sums are involved.
For more on the UFC's upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
