Conor McGregor opens as big favorite over Floyd Mayweather for potential UFC fight

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor already have already gone toe to toe inside the boxing ring, and now talk of a potential MMA fight has reached the point that official odds have been released by Westgate Las Vegas.

And they’re stacked in favor of the UFC lightweight champion as one would expect (via Twitter):

At those odds of McGregor -1000 and Mayweather +650, a $100 bet on Mayweather (50-0 boxing) would yield a $650 payout if he won. Conversely, you’d have to bet $1,000 on McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) just to win $100.

To compare, odds for their boxing match opened with Mayweather as a massive -2250 favorite and McGregor -950. That line dramatically came down over months of build-up, with Mayweather closing at -450 and McGregor +325.

Mayweather would go on to defeat McGregor by 10th-round TKO last August at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a spectacle that drew huge numbers at the box office.

The seriousness of Mayweather potentially fighting MMA took a turn in December, when UFC President Dana White said he was in talks on a deal with Mayweather, which the undefeated boxing champion quickly shut down. But the idea hasn’t gone completely away, and Mayweather added fuel to the fire when he posted videos on social media teasing a potential crossover.

The possibility got another shot of energy last week when Mayweather said he would soon begin training for an MMA fight with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Mayweather spoke at length – and in a serious tone – with TMZ about a possible time frame. He even assessed his MMA skills as they currently stand.

“I’ll probably need a little bit longer (than three months),” Mayweather said. “A little bit longer. Even if it takes six to eight months, whatever it takes, we just want to make sure everything is done correctly, and everything is done the right way.

“I can wrestle. My wrestling game is not that bad. On a scale from one to 10, I would say it’s probably a seven. We can take it up to a nine, if possible. Of course my hand game, on a scale of one to 10, it’s 100. The kicking game, on a scale from one to 10, it’s probably a four. We have to tweak a few things to take things to the next level.”

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