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Posted 01/11/2008 at 01:00 AM
There have been some recent rumblings that boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. might put his skills to use in mixed martial arts. This will not happen for a couple reasons. First and foremost, 'Pretty Boy' will not make nearly the same amount of money from MMA that he does in boxing. Mayweather alone made more money this year than the Ultimate Fighting Championship did from a few years ago. His two fights against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton produced the biggest paydays of his career, and he's now the poster boy of boxing.
Billionaire Mark Cuban has been moving into the MMA scene with his HDNet fights, and is friends with Mayweather after their stint in television's Dancing with the Stars. While he has the deep pockets to entice Mayweather, this is just a marketing ploy to get his latest company off the ground.
Another reason why Mayweather won't make the jump to MMA is because of injuries. He is nearing the end of his boxing run, and has stated that his body is starting to break down from brittle hands to joint pain. I have always compared boxing and MMA to checkers and chess. While Mayweather is an elite boxer with incredible cardio, he would be exposed if and when a MMA fight went to the ground.
They are called mixed martial artists for a reason, and fighters are exposed for any shortcomings they have. Legendary Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Royce Gracie was destroyed by Matt Hughes a couple years ago because Hughes was better well-rounded and knew how to defend jiu-jitsu submissions. When Gracie couldn't submit his opponent, he was finished with a brutal beat down.
The same thing would happen to Mayweather unless they paired him against a standup fighter with no ground skills. In the UFC's lightweight division, there are no really good matchups for Mayweather. He would be better dancing into the sunset with his new television buddy.
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