Normally, I wouldn’t give something like this a second glance, but the happenings in the last few days have raised my eyebrows.
For a few days, we have all known that UFC President Dana White has another “huge announcement” that he will make in the near future. In an interview with ESPN the Magazine, Dana White said the following:
I’m going to make an announcement next week that is going to blow people’s minds. That deal is done, but my employees don’t even know ye’. I’m renting out a place next Thursday and I’m going to tell them. Then we’ll make the announcement later that day. It’s an indicator of where this business is going over the next five years.
Now Dana White has made statements like this in the past, and most of the “huge” announcements have failed to live up to White’s hype. But, perhaps this time Dana White really does have a game-changer to announce.
Earlier this week, the world of boxing was shocked by Floyd Mayweather’s retirement. Mayweather was scheduled to rematch Oscar De La Hoya this September that likely would have netted him more than $25 million.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write you this message today,” Mayweather said in a statement. “I have decided to permanently retire from boxing. This decision was not an easy one for me to make as boxing is all I have done since I was a child. However, these past few years have been extremely difficult for me to find the desire and joy to continue in the sport.
“I have said numerous times and after several of my fights over the past two years that I might not fight again. At the same time, I loved competing and winning and also wanted to continue my career for the fans, knowing they were there for me and enjoyed watching me fight. However, after many sleepless nights and intense soul-searching I realized I could no longer base my decision on anything but my own personal happiness, which I no longer could find. So I have finally made up my mind, spoken to my family, particularly my mother, and made my decision.”
Mayweather has hinted at wanting to compete in mixed martial arts in the past and earlier this year also competed at the WWE’s Wrestlemania event.
Could Dana White and the UFC be set to announce that they have signed Floyd Mayweather? I know, I know, it sounds completely crazy; but the pieces are all lined up for it to happen.
Tamara from UFCMedia.com is hinting that Mayweather has been in contact with the UFC this week and Sam Caplan from FiveOuncesOfPain.com ponders the same idea.
Now, this all is complete speculation at this point and I would not place any money on this happening. A safer bet would be an announcement that the UFC had signed a deal with a major network, most likely either FOX or ABC/ESPN. My guess is that a network deal will be announced and the first show will take place this fall and be headlined by Chuck Liddell and/or Anderson Silva moving up to light heavyweight.
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Wouldn’t Anderson Silva have to fight Okami before moving to LHW??
I guess, but the fight hasn’t been signed yet. There is no reason he can’t move up after he fights Okami, or just fight Okami after taking a first fight at 205.
i would love to see Mayweather in the octagon and be humbled by someone like BJ Penn or Sean Sherk. Floyd is only 5′8″ and fights at 147lbs. so hes not a big guy, but with that said he would be smart to bulk up as much as possible and maybe get up to welterweight. Mayweather has great speed and punching power so bulking up wont hurt him very much in that department and might even help him to hit harder and with more mass he’ll be able to learn some wrestling a bit easier. and if Dana says we are going to see Chuck Liddell vs. Anderson Silva i will sh*t my pants with pure joy that fight would be wicked and Anderson at light heavy could be a killer can you imagine Andersons striking after he added 20lbs. more power. as far as Dana’s “huge announcement†goes i wouldnt doubt it if he announces that the UFC video game will be out very soon lol.
Ya ive been reading about the big announcement too, the main thing is where he says “the next 5 years”. I also think its the network deal. Danas last big announcement was that bud light wad sponsoring the UFC lol.
As for Floyd, he wouldnt blow of a 25 mil payday which would be another easy victory and take the measly 250K or something Dana would toss him to get his pretty face elbowed. He will never fight in mma, hes just a bigmouth..
boys I guarentee that this is it…
is that a money back guarantee? because im kinda with BV on this one Mayweather is way to pretty to be pounded on with 4oz gloves, i mean come on did you see the pic Doc put up who would event want to mess that face up lol. maybe he could fight Gina Carano they both could make 145lbs. they could call lol.
sorry i didnt finish that post i was giggling to myself and i hit the button lol, they can call Carano vs. Mayweather battle of the beautiful and agree not to punch each other in the face lol. well ive entertained myself enough for one night im going to bed lol…. peace!
This is probably the worst post ever. Why would a guy pass up a $25 Million payday to fight in the UFC for a million tops? Pull your head out of your ***.
sometimes when you have millions of dollars built up in the bank you can make choices not based on how much you getting paid. maybe Mayweather wants to prove something to himself for himself, do you think he really NEEDS another 25 million at this point? did you see his presser where he said he bored with boxing and there is nothing left for him in the sport? maybe hes a real fighter who is looking for a real challenge. have you ever competed in a combat sport? i know Mayweather always tries to make good coin for his fights but at some point his money is not going to be able to comfort him anymore, and if he has this voice in his head saying he CANT hang in MMA eating him inside do you think money is going to fix that for him? not every athlete in every sport will pick money over good competition, most fighters start fighting because they love it not because they think there going to get rich from it.
ya thats true RJ, i just dont see Flyd being that guy, despite what he says. You know what would be great, if it were true and he proved me wrong, id love to be wrong on this hehe. LEts see what happens..
yeah i know what your saying, Mayweather doesnt come across as a true samurai warrior type and he very likely is NOT going to take the plunge in to MMA. BUT unless your Floyd or his Momma dont try and say it not going to happen, it not the most unlikely thing to ever happen. on a side note there is going to be another WWE “superstar” making the move over to MMA, a wrestler named Bobby Lashley has signed a three fight deal with AFL (American Fight League) but forgive me if im not as optimistic about Lashleys chances in MMA as i was for Lesnar lol.
well so what happens? nothing as usual, i think Dana knew this was a flop card and tried to gen more PPV thru an explosive announcement that never existed.. its a tv deal duhhh.. 5 years.. Chuck wont be in MMA in 5 years.. lol so its a deal for network tv most probably…
i dont think this is dana’s big annoncement,but i do think its liddel vs anderson silva
[...] (which would have been the biggest fight in boxing this year). Want some salt in an open wound? Mayweather may be on his way to UFC (note: thanks to a comment by Jason Peck @ TakeAPeck, I know that boxing and MMA aren’t in [...]
as good as a boxer mayweather is i dont think he hands will carry him through an mma match, maybe with the lower ranked fighters, but never with the top ten ranked, he aint used to grappling..etc and aint going to learn the art of it in such a short time, also i have seen many boxers come in to mma bouts before, and they receive a hard leg kick, it hurts them so much that they forget what to do with their hands..another waste of space is brock lesnar..did you know he got paid $250,000 for the frank mir fight and frank only got $80,000..what a ******* liberty..
as much as i dont agree with the idea of Lesnar making more (let alone 3 times more) then Mir, i do understand why. 90% of the people who watched that p.p.v. tuned in to see Lesnar and didnt really care who he was fighting. i dont see Lesnar renewing his contract for anymore then hes getting now IF he even stays around after his contract is up. i agree fully about the Mayweather thing, i just dont see him making a big impact on MMA in any way, shape, or form.but i would like to see Mr.Money step in and be humbled by someone not even worthy of top ten, someone like Nate Diaz could make Mayweather look foolish by closing in taking it to the ground and submitting him in a minute or two.