Rumored fight restrictions could make Mayweather a favorite vs. McGregor

A second fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor was bound to happen after the lucrative bout in August that smashed pay per view records. And while the rematch was expected to go down inside McGregor’s preferred octagon, the recent rumored parameters give Mayweather better than just a puncher’s chance.

Mayweather has his critics but no one could characterize him as dumb. These guidelines – if adopted in the rematch – would level the playing field between the two fighters. Bovada listed McGregor as a -900 favorite against Mayweather (+550) in the Octagon before the rumored fight restrictions. Boxing and MMA oddsmaker Joey Oddessa says there would be a drastic swing in the odds if no elbowing, kicking or takedowns would be allowed.

“It’s pretty simple. If you take the martial arts out of boxing then it’s just boxing,” Oddessa says. “And if they box in a ring, the street or a cage, Floyd kicks [McGregor’s] ass again. I think you may see Floyd below -200 if they market this thing right again.”

Not all fight experts are as confident in Mayweather’s chances inside the Octagon even without any elbowing, kicking or takedowns.

“It’s still not a good situation for Mayweather if they’re using 4-oz gloves with clinching still on the table,” Nick Kalikas of MMA OddsBreaker told Covers. “I still think Conor would abuse [Mayweather] in a cage.”

One thing all fight fans and experts can agree on is Mayweather doesn’t stand a chance against McGregor under regular MMA fight rules. If – OK when – the bout happens, it might not include all these stipulations but there would have to be some contact limits to give Mayweather a chance.

Mayweather opened as large as -10,000 chalk and was bet down all the way to -550 before the Round 1 bell in the boxing match last August against McGregor. The public showed an insane amount of support for McGregor but would that happen again in the octagon?

Conor McGregor’s UFC future is in limbo because of his actions at the Barclay Center last week but there’s no questioning he’s still a major draw in the fight game. UFC president Dana White didn’t shut the door about a rematch between Mayweather and McGregor after the fight last August either.

| Title: Opening odds: Khabib Nurmagomedov favored over Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson
| Author: Ashton Grewal
| Date: April 11 2018