Morning Report: Tyron Woodley says Floyd Mayweather MMA training starts this week

In December, Floyd Mayweather Jr. declared he had a multi-fight offer from the UFC worth “a billion dollars.” Just last week, Mayweather announced that he would begin training for a possible fight in the Octagon and would need “six to eight months” to train for his possible MMA debut. Now, it looks like he’s ready to get down to brass tacks, at least according to UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

A few weeks ago, Woodley declared his intention to train Mayweather for a crossover into MMAand over the weekend, the welterweight champion announced that Mayweather would start his MMA journey next week.

“I talked to Floyd yesterday actually,” Woodley told TMZ Sports. “He’s in Miami right now and we’re coordinating dates on training. . .

“We’re beginning the process of setting up the timing. I think more of it is gonna be game-planning strategy over the phone and talking about the game-plan of training, because if you think about the wrestling, if you think about the jiu-jitsu, if you think about the kicking aspect of the game, he does not have to go out there and learn how to kick like Bruce Lee. He does not have to go out there and become a black belt overnight, he just has to be able to stop it and get in boxing range and I think anybody in the UFC, he’s gonna be able to handle his own with.

“I think we’re gonna start most of it next week, so I think we’re gonna start some of the strategy talks next week and we might get some sessions in as well.”

Mayweather first teased a crossover into MMA during the buildup for his boxing match against Conor McGregor last August but most MMA fans did not consider it a serious possibility. But after the financial success of MayMac, a rematch in the UFC and the financial incentive it brings has the possibility looking much more serious.

As for what Woodley intends on teaching Mayweather once the training starts, the game-plan is pretty clear: Mayweather is a world-class striker and every fight starts on the feet, so keep it there.

“I think, obviously, his striking is bar-none some of the best we’ve ever seen in the sport,” said Woodley. “Anybody who has the ability to evade a punch in a fraction of a second, I think, with proper repetition and proper drilling can avoid a takedown wrestling attempt. So that’s obviously gonna be the primary goal, to equip him with the tools to not get taken down and if he happens to get taken down, how to keep his cool and how to get his butt back up to his feet and get back where he needs to be.”