UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley Believes Floyd Mayweather has One Key Advantage for MMA Debut…
Tyron Woodley isn’t a shy man. The UFC welterweight champion has been shouting to the heavens for a ‘money’ fight for months now. However, his recent fights haven’t been the most fan friendly. Sure, he’s demonstrated great technique and tactics, but for casual fans, they’ve been a bit of a snoozefest.
So much so that he’s had an on-off feud with Dana White. The UFC president famously announced that Woodley would never headline a card again, after his rematch with Stephen Thompson last year. Woodley wants to fight someone like Georges St. Pierre, but he’s starting to accept that the UFC just don’t want to back him. So he has another plan.
Woodley is training Floyd Mayweather for his UFC debut. The world’s most famous boxer and richest athlete is ready to cross over to mixed martial arts. It sounds insane, but its Floyd Mayweather, and with the massive money going to be involved, then why wouldn’t he? Woodley has broken down how exactly Mayweather will be able to hold his own in the octagon.
Disadvantage
One of the main reasons why people think the whole Mayweather UFC deal is a load of baloney is because the American is 41 years old with absolutely no MMA experience. If he takes on his most obvious opponent, Conor McGregor, he will be vulnerable to kicks, takedowns, and submissions. In the Irishman’s words, it will be a ‘real fight.’
However, let’s not disrespect Mayweather. He’s got an incredible unbeaten record of 50-0. His stand-up skills would be up there with any UFC fighter. As seen when he fought McGregor, his defensive boxing skills are phenomenal. The man just cannot be hit.
Takedown Defense
Woodley spoke on UFC Tonight on what he believes would be Mayweather’s best strategy, if he fights in the octagon. He believes that the American has what it takes to make an impact and be competitive under MMA rules. He said:
“Blocking kicks is really easy. Once you get to the point where Floyd Mayweather is at, you can see that his boxing, his defense, his ability to see a punch coming in a fraction of a second and avoid or evade that punch, comes from repetition. Drilling over and over and over again. So that’s all we would have to do to utilize blocking kicks.”
Does Tyron smell the scent of dollars or is he being serious? Mayweather is after all one of the greatest ever defensive boxers. Heavy hitters like Manny Pacquaio, Oscar de la Hoya, Canelo Alvarez, and Conor McGregor just couldn’t get near enough to hit him.
High Expectations
According to Woodley, it is all about getting Mayweather comfortable moving around the octagon. His entire ring craft would have to adapt to a different arena. Woodley proceeded to explain:
“Obviously, every round starts on the feet, every fight starts on the feet, and if you can keep it on the feet, I think that he can hold his own with pretty much anyone in that weight division.”
Yeah, but that’s a massive if. In case Woodley hasn’t forgotten, this is MMA. The first thing that is going to happen to Mayweather in an octagon is someone will kick his leg and then shoot for the takedown. At 41 years of age, can he really prepare for that?
