'Biggest name in MMA' Floyd Mayweather says 50-50 chance of cage fight by end of 2018

Floyd Mayweather has started MMA training – well, sort of.

Mayweather told FightHype.com today that preparations for a possible MMA fight have begun, though it sounds like things are in the very early stages.

“I started training already,” Mayweather said. “Not the physical part – endurance, as far as moving around. So far, I’ve started running. …

“I’m thinking about fighting in the MMA, I’ve thought about it. … I started training in Miami. I look forward to fighting probably by the end of the year. We don’t know. Right now it’s a 50-50 (chance), not a hundred percent. But we’ve started training.”

The idea of Mayweather fighting in MMA seems preposterous to many, but his latest remarks follow a recent line of seriously talking about a crossing over into the sport.

Mayweather previously has indicated he would turn to UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley for guidance, which Mayweather said the two have already planned things out in terms of how to get him up to speed.

“Me and Woodley have spoke to each other on numerous occasions,” Mayweather said. “We talked. We said we’re going to start working out, as far as he’s got a great hand game already. I’m going to be working with different guys in the jiu-jitsu world. My wrestling game, I’m going to be working with guys with the wrestling. My kicking game, I’m going to be working with guys for the kicking game. Before I get in the octagon, I’ve got to be well rounded, all around the board.”

That being said, Mayweather doesn’t believe there’s much he’ll need to get used to.

“Fighting is not nothing new for me,” he said. “Fighting barefoot is something new, but fighting is nothing new for me. The thing is this — (say I’m) fighting a guy that has some unbelievable jiu-jitsu skills, unbelievable wrestling skills, but the thing is this: His chances of getting to me, I mean, the percentage of his chances getting to me to lock up with me, he has to come in first. But he may lock up with me, and he may get wrapped up in certain ways. You don’t know how things could play out or how things could happen.

“With MMA, anything can happen. It’s brutal. It’s very, very brutal.”

While Mayweather seems to understand there’s at least some learning curve he’ll face, that doesn’t stop him from making bold proclamations about his standing in the sport.

“I know right now I’m the biggest name in MMA,” Mayweather said. “Hands down, I know this. And the second biggest name is Conor McGregor.”

Mayweather (50-0 boxing), of course, defeated McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) by 10th-round TKO in their highly anticipated boxing match last August, which was a huge hit at the box office. A rematch in the cage certainly seems like a natural follow-up – if Mayweather, indeed, is serious.

But Mayweather wouldn’t go that far when asked about fighting McGregor in the octagon.

“I can’t say right now,” Mayweather said. “I can’t really say how things are going to play out. I’m a numbers man. I’m all about the numbers.”

“Conor McGregor, tough, vicious competitor,” he continued. “Of course, just like he feels he got dynamite hands with the 4-ounce gloves on, I feel like I got dynamite power with the 4-ounce gloves on.”

If Mayweather does decide to step inside the cage, he’s set on fight at featherweight – which, he says, is the reason a McGregor rematch could be difficult, despite McGregor previosly winning the 145-pound UFC title.

“It’d be hard for me and Conor McGregor to fight, because if I was to fight in the MMA, I would have to fight at 145 (pounds),” Mayweather said. “The weight class I would fight at is 145. … In MMA it would be totally different, because we don’t have no shoes on, and with 4-ounce gloves on, you think I’m fast with 8-ounce gloves on, imagine how fast I’d be with 4-ounce gloves on.”

First, though, imagine Mayweather being serious about all this.

For more on the UFC schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.