SUNDAY NEWS DIGEST 2/11: Floyd Mayweather continues to tease rematch with Conor McGregor

BY AARON CRIDER, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather after their fight (photo credit Joe Camporeale © USA Today Sports)

Rumors of Floyd Mayweather Jr. transitioning to an MMA fight against Conor McGregor are picking up speed. The undefeated, undisputed boxing king added a fuel to the gossip fire with a bold Tweet.

This is the second time Mayweather has chimed in about an MMA fight with the Irishman. In January he posted a video of himself inside the octagon.

There are plenty of interested parties that would love to see the two pound-for-pound fighters go at it again. UFC president Dana White has broached the subject several times, as has longtime color commentator Joe Rogan.

However, MMA is a completely different beast than boxing. The 40-year-old Mayweather would most like be out in a matter of minutes, and, in the end the whole show would feel like a wash instead of being entertaining like the boxing match. The tweet doesn’t mean Mayweather-McGregor 2 is a go, although it is fun to condor that it might happen.

SUNDAY NEWS NOTEBOOK

-Chris Weidman wants next shot at Robert Whittaker

Even though Yoel Romero missed weight ahead of Saturday’s interim middleweight title fight at Perth Arena in Western Australia, that didn’t stop him from putting No. 2 Luke Rockhold on the canvas. Romero remained the No. 1 contender with his third round finish, but it’s former middleweight champion Chris Weidman that says he deserves the next shot at the champ, Robert Whittaker.

“I think I should fight Whittaker. I just beat (Kevin) Gastelum who is top 5. I just finished him and he’s never got finished his career,” he said in a pre-fight interview.

Weidman would make a good choice as a challenger to Whittaker, considering Rockhold’s loss and the fact that Romero missed a chance at the interim belt by missing weight. In addition, he was the last one to lose to the champion. However, Weidman is still recovering from surgery to repair a dislocated thumb and still doesn’t have a definitive timetable for his return.

-Woodley not backing down about Diaz comments

Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley had a few choice words for his boss, UFC president Dana White.

After hinting at the possibility that his next title defense could come against Nate Diaz, White called out his champion saying that he was “full of sh*t”, and that the company’s lawyer has told Woodley to stop saying that the fight was a go. It didn’t take long for the champ to defend himself.

In an appearance on TMZ Sports’ Hollywood Beatdown, Woodley said, “I don’t want people to think that I’m full of sh*t, as my boss said…that I’m making this sh*t up. That a fight with me and Nate was never talked about in December and has never been brought up since then—that is bullsh*t. It has. Did I get a contract to fight Nate? No, I did not. So, if I’m not thinking about the highest prize as a prizefighter, I am a complete idiot.” “I’m entitled to think whatever the hell I want to think,” Woodley went on. “I didn’t say, ‘Hey the UFC has a bout agreement, we’re in the process of negotiations, Dana White called me and offered me the fight.”

While Woodley and White continue an argument of he said-he said, Diaz has expressed interest in a fight with Woodley. “I’m getting to the point where I’m sick of not fighting. I’m not getting any younger,” Diaz said to ESPN. “I see (Woodley) on TMZ every week, talking about me…It’s not really my weight class, but I’m with it. I think it’s my title we’re fighting for. If he’s the one calling me out, whose title are we fighting for? Who’s the real champion here?”

NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS NEWS: FRIDAY NEWS DIGEST 2/2: Conor McGregor: Should Floyd Mayweather not fight in the UFC, “it will follow him for the rest of his days”. (w/ Mojgani’s analysis)

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