Floyd Mayweather has been teasing a potential professional MMA debut for quite some time and it looks like things are coming together with each passing day.
UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley has claimed to have spoken with Mayweather about training for an MMA debut, which apparently starts this week.
“I talked to Floyd yesterday actually,” Woodley told TMZ Sports. “He’s in Miami right now and we’re coordinating dates on training. We’re beginning the process of setting up the timing. I think more of it is gonna be game-planning strategy over the phone and talking about the game-plan of training, because if you think about the wrestling, if you think about the jiu-jitsu, if you think about the kicking aspect of the game, he does not have to go out there and learn how to kick like Bruce Lee. He does not have to go out there and become a black belt overnight, he just has to be able to stop it and get in boxing range and I think anybody in the UFC, he’s gonna be able to handle his own with. I think we’re gonna start most of it next week, so I think we’re gonna start some of the strategy talks next week and we might get some sessions in as well.”
It should be noted that Mayweather has yet to comment about a specific time for when the MMA training would begin.
Woodley thinks the best thing for Mayweather to learn is how to avoid getting taken down.
“I think, obviously, his striking is bar-none some of the best we’ve ever seen in the sport,” said Woodley. “Anybody who has the ability to evade a punch in a fraction of a second, I think, with proper repetition and proper drilling can avoid a takedown wrestling attempt. So that’s obviously gonna be the primary goal, to equip him with the tools to not get taken down and if he happens to get taken down, how to keep his cool and how to get his butt back up to his feet and get back where he needs to be.”
Mayweather did box and defeat UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor this past August, so the Irishman could make a likely opponent for Mayweather’s pro MMA debut.
