If UFC champion Conor McGregor is to be believed, there will be no more talk of Floyd Mayweather fighting in the UFC…
McGregor took to Instagram on Sunday to declare that Mayweather is “out of these current fight negotiations,” referring to the chatter concerning his boxing rival supposedly wanting to test his skills in the world of MMA.
“I am happy for Floyd and his recent announcement that he is out of these current fight negotiations.
It is the reason I never seeked the rematch in the first place. I was happy for him in retirement.
My game is a very unforgiving one. It is not like other games.
I understand completely him staying retired. I will now carry on in my negotiations and see where it goes.
Have a great retirement Junior.
Now come here and give your old man a hug for old times sake. I’m proud of you son.
Yours truly,
Senior.”
In recent weeks, there have been hints that Mayweather could transition to MMA, highlighted by a video of Mayweather stepping into a cage. While the idea of the 40-year-old competing in the Octagon felt far-fetched, there was no question an MMA (re)match with McGregor would bring in huge revenue, making it impossible to brush off the idea.
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It is worth noting Mayweather dismissed the idea of facing McGregor again when he talked with MMAjunkie.com’s Mike Bohn at NBA All-Star Weekend:
Just saw @FloydMayweather as I was walking backstage and asked him if he's serious about a rematch with @TheNotoriousMMA in MMA: "I already fought Conor, and we're at a basketball game, not an MMA match."
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) February 18, 2018
Last August we saw McGregor make his lone combat sports appearance in a massively overhyped boxing bout against Mayweather that the boxing legend would eventually win by 10th-round TKO.
In the past few weeks, rumors of a possible move to MMA for the 40-year-old Mayweather were spurred on by comments from McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh, UFC president Dana White, and Mayweather himself.