Floyd Mayweather apparently got one look at Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titlist Sean Sherk and decided he wanted nothing to do with mixed martial arts.

The newly crowned WBC 154-lb. champion talked a lot of smack about MMA leading up to his fight with Oscar De La Hoya.

But UFC president Dana White, Zuffa LLC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, and Sherk, the UFC's 155-lb. champ, showed up at the MGM Grand looking to give Mayweather the chance to put his money where his mouth was.

And the Pretty Boy changed his tune. According to the Web site FightNews.com, Mayweather, using former Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman and current UFC employee Marc Ratner as an intermediary, signaled he wanted to make peace with the UFC.

"I apologize to the UFC, sometimes we say things that we shouldn't have said and I'm man enough to admit that," said Mayweather.  "I apologize to the Fertittas, Lorenzo and Dana White. I respect MMA fighters and what they do in the UFC. I have no plans of fighting in mixed martial arts."

While Mayweather left the MGM Grand a winner last week, it appears the sport of mixed martial arts was the biggest beneficiary of last week's hype.

The bulk of the coverage leading up to the Mayweather-DeLaHoya fight prominently mentioned MMA's encroachment on the boxing market.

True, some of the coverage was lowlighted by tired clich