On the fifth anniversary of Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor, we take a look back at the biggest crossover in combat sports.
It has been five years since Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor met inside a boxing ring in Las Vegas — and still to this day, the whole thing still feels a little surreal.
Just think: Perhaps the most anticipated fight in combat sports history began with a referee essentially reminding one of the participants in which sport he was competing.
“You’re going to hear me say stop, because I’m not going to wrestle with you and I’m not going to grapple with you,” referee Robert Byrd said as he looked squarely at McGregor.
What this spectacle said about combat sports, that a mismatch of epic proportions would greatly outsell any legitimate championship fight is slightly troubling (maybe even a little depressing), but it’s certainly no surprise. Mayweather vs. McGregor was an appeal to imagination and a perfect fit in the current state of media coverage, celebrity worship and plenty of Twitter fingers.
Boxing enjoyed a full summer in the limelight in 2017 and didn’t forfeit much for it. Mayweather was 40 years old when he fought McGregor, and on the verge of retirement.
For MMA, it was an opportunity to introduce its most compelling star to an often-hard-to-reach mainstream audience. It gave UFC president Dana White the ability to call 2017 the most lucrative year in company history after coming off the promotion’s $4 billion sale in 2016.
Since then, Mayweather Jr. has fought in exhibition fights and won against Tenshin Nasukawa, but went the distance in non-scored bouts vs. Logan Paul and Don Moore.
McGregor on the other hand went on to lose vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 for the UFC Lightweight championship. Finished Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in the 1st round and lost back-to-back fights against Dustin Poirier in 2021 at UFC 267 and UFC 264.
Despite the losses, McGregor’s made more money, in 2021, his Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey business sold their majority stake in the company to Proximo Spirits, who previously had a 49% stake, for a deal worth a reported $600 million.
Five years later and both men are still stars in their respective sports. It’s safe to say that.
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