It's the most unfathomable fight in the history of combat sports and yet, somehow, it seems more possible by the day.

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and all-time great boxer Floyd Mayweather seem to be on a collision course that would pull McGregor away from the UFC and Mayweather out of retirement for one of the most financially viable and intriguing bouts either mixed martial arts or boxing has ever produced. Both parties seem confident a deal can be reached between Mayweather Promotions and the newly-formed McGregor Promotions, along with whoever else is involved in the process of eventually making the fight a reality.

How did we get to this point?

The origins start a little something like this:

On April 15, 2015, less than three weeks before Mayweather's historic pay-per-view bout against Manny Pacquiao, Esquire's Chris Jones published a story in which McGregor said he would have his way with Mayweather.


Jan 11, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boxer Floyd Mayweather cheers on the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics won 117-108. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

"If you can box, what happens if I grab hold of your legs?" McGregor asked. "If you put me face-to-face with Floyd Mayweather--pound-for-pound boxing's best--if I fought Floyd, I would kill him in less than thirty seconds. It would take me less than thirty seconds to wrap around him like a boa constrictor and strangle him."

By April 16, 2015, every outlet under the sun had their own variation of the same story. Mayweather quickly responded via TMZ, stating, "I don't take that dude seriously. He's just trying to get himself some publicity."

At the time, it seemed as unlikely as a fight could be.

Bleacher Report's Steven Rondina, a featured columnist, wrote at the time, "Needless to say, fans shouldn't entertain the idea of a Mayweather vs. McGregor superfight. While the idea is intriguing, the promotional and financial barriers are far too tall to overcome at this point (oh, and they also compete in completely different sports)."

And Rondina was completely right. At that point, the fight seemed unfathomable. He wasn't alone in his view. Fans and media alike scoffed at the idea of a bout between Mayweather and McGregor.

On May 2, 2015, Mayweather seemingly ended his in-ring career with a masterful performance against Pacquiao, using his superior movement and boxing ability to outpoint the Filipino fighter en route to a unanimous, if boring, decision victory.

The fight drew well over 4.5 million pay-per-view buys, smashing combat sports records. With Mayweather taking home somewhere between $220- and 230 million for the bout, he announced his retirement and seemed to subsequently end his in-ring career.

In Mayweather's absence, McGregor became the biggest star in combat sports today. While his fame was already on the rise, his interim UFC world featherweight title victory over Chad Mendes in July of 2015 followed by a stunning 13-second victory of longtime UFC world featherweight champion Jose Aldo in December of 2015 made McGregor arguably the biggest sporting superstar the UFC had ever produced.


Photo credit: © Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

He was responsible for 825,000 PPV buys at UFC 189, followed by 1.4 million for his win over Aldo. The number don't lie: McGregor was becoming as big a star as he liked to tell everyone he was.

In an August 2015 interview with The Guardian's Donald McRae, McGregor suggested that the fight against Mayweather could become the highest-grossing combat sports event in history. He added that "it could happen" and that he "would certainly be up for it."

"Why would he take me on? But if you're talking about a fight that could generate half a billion--it's this one," McGregor said. "There's never going to be another boxing fight like this. Only a cross-style match between Mayweather and me could generate that kind of interest and revenue."

So the chatter continued. Fight fans gathered around their computers, taking to social media to discuss what the fight might look like. Talk show pundits continued the chatter on television. McGregor and Mayweather both did their part as well, producing jabs at each other from time to time.

Even a loss couldn't stop the McGregor fame from growing. In March of 2016, he was submitted in the second round by loud-mouthed Stockton native Nate Diaz. He vanquished Diaz in an August 2016 rematch before capturing the UFC's world lightweight championship from Eddie Alvarez in November of 2016 at UFC 205. The bout against Alvarez, the UFC's first ever card in Madison Square Garden, drew an estimated 1.6 million pay-per-view buys.

When McGregor became the first UFC fighter to simultaneously hold two world titles in two separate weight divisions, he became bigger than the brand. Just ask him, and he wouldn't be afraid to tell you. It's likely where his discontent with the UFC over the past year has come from, even taking part in a short-lived retirement at one point.

It's now February of 2017 and all that in the past, the fight against Mayweather appears more real than ever.



Both Mayweather and McGregor have admitted that negotiations are ongoing for the two to compete in a boxing match. During a pay-per-view interview from Manchester (you read that right, a pay-per-view interview), McGregor said that the fight "is more than just being explored." 

"That fight has been in the works awhile now," McGregor said. "Look, there's a lot of steps to get through to get the fight going, but it's the fight to make. It's the fight the people want. It's the fight I want. I know I'm confident going in there."

Of course, it's not that easy.

McGregor has an exclusive contract with the UFC that would make things difficult for him to compete on any other brand. UFC President Dana White has warned McGregor of an "epic fall" if he tries to go through with the fight, but he also offered each of the fighters $25 million to make the fight happen.

McGregor has cited the Ali Act as a way around the UFC, but he's also made clear that things would go "smoother if we're all involved."

"I think we're all about good business," McGregor said during his pay-per-view interview. "I've done great business with the UFC, with Dana, with everyone. I think it's smoother if everyone just gets together, we get it involved, but again everyone's got to know their place. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

In December of 2016, McGregor started taking real steps toward making the fight happen. He officially has a boxing license from the state of California and early in 2017, he started McGregor Promotions.

He believes "100 percent" that the next time he fights in "a combat arena will be through the ropes wearing 10-ounce or eight-ounce gloves."

In his retirement, Mayweather has quickly become one of the finest new boxing promoters in North America. While it could be said that he still talks about himself all too much (shocking!), he has been able to get his young talent onto major cards and into world title fights.

Most recently, he had a hand in helping Gervonta Davis receive a lightweight world title shot in the co-feature of a major Showtime boxing card. Davis looked sensational, earning the world title in the process, but certainly the lure of Mayweather being ringside and providing Showtime with exclusive interviews didn't hurt their interest in the bout.


Sep 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Floyd Mayweather (black trunks) and Andre Berto (white trunks) box during their WBA/WBC welterweight title bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mayweather won via unanimous decision. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

In Mayweather's stable to date is Davis, WBC middleweight champion Badou Jack, Mickey Bey Jr., Ashley Theophane, and a variety of other up-and-coming boxers.

We know very little about McGregor promotions at this time, other than the fact they would have a part in any promotional activities to do with Mayweather versus McGregor. There are no signed fighters to the brand outside of McGregor, and there have been no signs to suggest that will change.

While boxing fans and MMA fans alike can groan at the prospect of Mayweather versus McGregor, neither can deny that combat sports could use the rejuvenation.

HBO has seen three of its 10 worst PPV sales in the two years since Mayweather versus Pacquiao took place. Gennady Golovkin against David Lemieux sold just 150,000 pay-per-views, while the highly anticipated Andre Ward against Sergey Kovalev pay-per-view sold just 160,000. Topping it off was last year's Terence Crawford versus Victor Postol pay-per-view, which sold an all-time low 50,000 pay-per-views.

While mixed martial arts is faring better in the current pay-per-view landscape, events not featuring either McGregor or Ronda Rousey don't do nearly as well. UFC 203, featuring a headlining fight of UFC world heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic versus Alistair Overeem sold about 475,000 pay-per-views. UFC 201, which featured a UFC welterweight world title fight sold just 240,000 pay-per-views. Granted, it featured a late-replacement main event of Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway, but the December 2016 pay-per-view of UFC 206 sold just 150,000.

But would either fanbase buy the fight? Boxing fans have become more and more tight-pressed to spend their money on pay-per-views, especially in the wake of what many perceived as an underperforming bout between Pacquiao and Mayweather costing consumers $100.

What made Pacquiao and Mayweather such a hot ticket was that fans gave Pacquiao a chance. To make this fight sell, both promoters would have to convince the public that Mayweather had some way to win the fight. That would be no easy task.

To break down the bout from a technical standpoint, it's hard to fathom how McGregor would find a route to victory against Mayweather.


Nov 12, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Conor McGregor (blue gloves) fights Eddie Alvarez (red gloves) in their lightweight title bout during UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

While McGregor's graceful movement and incredible power have given fighters trouble between the weights of 145 and 160 pounds in mixed martial arts, it seems unlikely that he'd be able to find the chin of Mayweather in a boxing match. Very few world-class boxers have even come close to stunning Mayweather; what makes McGregor different?

Mayweather is one of the most defensively sound boxers in the history of the sport, keeping many hyper-aggressive opponents struggling throughout his entire career. His ability to create angles, use swift head movement and land punch combinations is enough to frustrate the best boxers in the world.

It also needs to be taken into consideration that the dimensions of a boxing ring are far different from that of a UFC Octagon. Much like how PRIDE FC fighters often found the transition to the UFC difficult after the Japanese organization's collapse, it's not hard to see that McGregor would suffer a similar fate moving the other way.

Mayweather won't take any unnecessary risks and will make the fight as boring as it needs to be to walk away with a victory.

None of this has even taken into account the fact that it's questionable whether or not a commission would even sanction a fight between the two. Any commission that would is likely to take flack for sanctioning a fight between a 49-0 fighter and one making his professional debut.

Can the fight happen? Yes. Absolutely. These are the two biggest, most marketable names in combat sports today. They both know how to do business.

While Mayweather has claimed on multiple occasions that he is completely content in retirement, he's also one of the finest business minds in combat sports.

McGregor, too, is a businessman. He's aware that there is no MMA fighter that could draw the ire of mainstream sports fans like a clash with boxing great Mayweather could. It's why he hasn't let the idea go.

Even the most skeptical, myself included, seem to be coming around on the idea that this fight is going to take place.

So here's to the biggest fight money can make. And for the sake of both mixed martial arts and boxing, let's hope it delivers.


By Shawn Smith for FloCombat






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