Chuck Liddell on Mayweather if he competed in MMA and addresses recent stories about boxer Andre Berto wanting to make a move to the UFC.
Boxing and mixed martial arts are two completely different sports. That much we do now.
But due to the scale of the media hype surrounding the recent Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor fight, there appears to be more and more athletes showing interest in competing professionally in the ‘other’ sport.
Former UFC champion Jose Aldo has been training with renowned boxing coach Robert Garcia a lot lately, as well as former world boxing champion Andre Berto intimating he would like to try his hand in a UFC fight.
Speaking to TMZ Sports on Berto and how Floyd Mayweather would have done in MMA, former UFC champion and Hall of Fame inductee Chuck Liddell said:
“He (Andre Berto) better be a great wrestler. As long as Max (Holloway from the UFC) wants it to last it’s going to stay on the ground. If they come over to MMA the problem is Floyd (Mayweather) would not have made it one round. One round. Not kickboxing. Not MMA. Not a street fight. Not one round. Guys coming from boxing – stay there (in boxing).”
Boxing and MMA are like apples and oranges and on the two most noted occasions when fighters from each sport tried hopping over into the top level of the other, both times they came unstuck.
When former world boxing champion James Toney stepped into the Octagon with Randy Couture he was choked out in the very first round.
Despite Conor McGregor having some early success against Floyd Mayweather in boxing, Mayweather ultimately toyed with him and took him out when he wanted to down the stretch of their boxing match.
It’s hard to see either athletes from the top level of either sport jumping over to the other one successfully. It just doesn’t make logical sense.
But then again, in the fight business – when has logic ever come into it?
The lure of bigger pay days on the ‘other side’ might continue to temp fighters for this kind of the thing for a while.
For the full interview above check it out here on TMZ YouTube (hat tip):
