Anthony Mundine respects the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) but has no plans to enter the sport like fellow Australian boxer Vic Darchinyan.
Mundine said he is not a “major fan” of UFC but watches it “every now and then”, nominating Rampage Jackson as one of the MMA fighters he follows.
“It’d have to be a big fight,” he said. “I respect their art. I’m not a fanatic.”
UFC rolls into Sydney again tomorrow, with a crowd of around 15,000 expected to attend at Homebush.
The main event on the card is a welterweight tussle between Martin ‘Hitman’ Kampann and Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves, while there will also be the introduction of a flyweight division.
Mundine said he isn’t interested in competing in UFC in the future, unlike Darchinyan who has publicly stated his desire to fight in UFC this year, and even if he was he couldn’t because of the arthritis he suffers in his hip
“I’m more the artist,” Mundine said. “Boxing’s my science. But I respect UFC.”
A lot has been made in recent years of the tussle between boxing and UFC, but Mundine believes when boxing is at “it’s best, pound for pound, you can’t match it”.
“UFC can’t match it, nothing can,” the 36-year old said. “When boxing is at it’s highest points today, that’s where it’s at.”
Mundine nominated the likes of seven-time world title holder Floyd Mayweather Jr as one at the top, but also believes UFC can be viewed separately to the sweet science.
“UFC can be judged in a different light,” he said. It’s more of a technical street fight. It’s not as artful as boxing.”
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