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Retired boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains arguably the most influential fighter in his own sport, but at least one MMA star also believes “Money” Mayweather deserves credit for helping MMA become what it has become, too. Jordan Young is a 26-year-old light heavyweight contender who currently competes for the Professional Fighters League (PFL). The 11-1 MMA fighter told Heavy he believes Mayweather helped pave the way for MMA superstars to do big things.
“Without him being ‘Money’ Mayweather, maybe we don’t get a ‘Mystic Mac’, a Conor McGregor, you know what I mean? Maybe we don’t get all the new fancy stuff that we now have in our game,” Young said.
Young fights at PFL 5 on June 17.
Mayweather is retired from prizefighting, but the 44-year-old legend participated in an eight-round exhibition bout against social media superstar Logan Paul on June 6.
Young Wants to Emulate Mayweather
Young is the youngest competitor in the PFL’s stacked 205-pound division, but the fighter fully expects to make his way into the PFL playoffs to compete for PFL gold and the $1 million prize money that comes with it.
Young admires Mayweather for the way the boxing star handled himself both inside and outside the ring during the American’s stalwart fighting career, and Young would like to emulate Mayweather’s efforts in both those arenas in his own career.
“Yeah, I love Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, everything from the way he crafted his career, to the way he speaks in his interviews. He’s very slow and deliberate. He takes his time and he thinks about the answers,” Young said.
But Young sees more than just an example for him to follow in Mayweather.
In Mayweather, Young sees an example many fighters in combat sports have already followed and will continue to follow in the future.
Moreover, Young sees Mayweather as the fighter who helped pave the way for MMA superstars to attract enough attention in the mainstream sports world to become household names.
“A lot of the trends and styles that we see in combat sports today, the flashy stuff, it would be, a lot of people would call that the ‘McGregor Effect’…McGregor got this from Mayweather, you know what I mean?” Young said.
Mayweather Compared to Lil Wayne
Young used a comparison from the music world to further articulate his point.
“It’s like one of those things, if I was to transfer it to the music world, Lil Wayne is somebody…if it wasn’t for Lil Wayne, a lot of the styles that currently go on right now would not be in effect. It’s the same thing for Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather,” Young said.
So Young considers Mayweather the Lil Wayne of combat sports.
“Without him being ‘Money’ Mayweather, maybe we don’t get a ‘Mystic Mac’, a Conor McGregor, you know what I mean? Maybe we don’t get all the new fancy stuff that we now have in our game,” Young said.
Young faces Tom Lawlor at PFL 5 on Thursday, June 17 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The action begins at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and continues at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
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