Could CM Punk Beat Floyd Mayweather In A UFC Fight?
Recently on The Joe Rogan Experience, he and Brendan Schaub were discussing Floyd Mayweather Jr’s potential jump to mixed martial arts that he’s been teasing, and a video of Jeff Mayweather saying Floyd “may beat CM Punk’s ass came up”. Rogan’s face lit up like a little boy’s on Christmas morning, and he IMMEDIATELY stated the following:
“If they do that…I would…oh my god. My heart. Be still my heart. They might do that. Oh my god. My heart. My heart. I can’t take it. My heart is flying out of my chest. If I saw Floyd Mayweather across from CM Punk, I’d be like, ‘This is not real life! Dude, that’s the fight, right?”
They went on and talked more about that ridiculous matchup, sorta tongue-in-cheek, sorta seriously, and both agreed that it might actually be close. I know how ridiculous that sounds to a lot of you, that this guy…
…could stand toe-to-toe with this guy…
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…in a UFC fight and have it be “close”, but I don’t think they’re off the mark by too much.
Let’s say this fight took place in 2018. Punk walks around at about 190lbs, cuts to 170lbs, so the least amount of weight he’d have on Floyd is say, 20lbs. Likely much more than that though. Punk has been training under Duke Roufus at Roufusport in Milwaukee for over three years now, alongside Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren, and recently received his blue belt (yes, the one after white belt) in jiu jitsu. If he catches Floyd and pulls him to the ground, he’s submitting him. I don’t even think there’s a struggle. It doesn’t matter that Punk is ten times worse than the worst fighter in UFC history, homeboy knows a thing or two about grappling. It’s cut and dry. Somebody (even Floyd, one of the greatest athletes in combat sports history) who starts training in MMA right now will be submitted by a blue belt under Duke Roufus 100% of the time, especially with a possible 40+ pound difference in weight.
If Punk can’t catch Floyd Mayweather and drag him to the ground though…
Lol he would die.
Rogan and Schaub also discussed the Bovada odds for Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather in an MMA fight, where McGregor is only listed at -900, and how those are the most ridiculous gambling odds in the history of sportsbooks. When it was Floyd vs Conor in boxing, Conor had a 1% chance of winning. A “Puncher’s Chance”, if you will. Everyone in every fight has that, because any punch at any time could end a fight, as you all know. Floyd doesn’t have a 1% chance against Conor in MMA. If they fought 1000 times, Conor wins all 1000. Floyd has broken his hands so many times that he wouldn’t even be able to throw properly with 4oz gloves on. Conor would do what he pleases with Floyd until he wanted to end it, and then he’d EASILY take him down and choke him out. Maybe even break his arm. Bet your life savings on McGregor if this ever happens (it won’t), as they said.
BetDSI currently has a line set for the superfight of the century, CM Punk (-300) vs Floyd Mayweather (+220). For that value, I’m taking Mayweather and praying that he’s able to miraculously stuff takedowns, but that line seems awfully steep and I’m an idiot, so they may know more than me on the subject.
Here’s what happened the last time a boxer tried to step into the octagon…
Granted, James Toney is no Floyd Mayweather, and CM Punk is no Randy Couture, but it’s the only measuring stick we’ve got for now. What do you think? Who are you taking?