Conor McGregor is the biggest attraction in MMA and one of the biggest draws in all of sports. Last week Forbes magazine reported the UFC lightweight champion was the 24th-highest paid athlete in the world, tied with soccer star Gareth Bale.
McGregor is set to move up the ladder after Wednesday's announcement that he will face Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match Aug. 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight will be one of the biggest moments in the history of combat sports and figures to be one of the greatest spectacles of all time. McGregor is set to pull down tens of millions of dollars for the bout.
MORE: What does megafight mean for boxing, MMA?
The 28-year-old McGregor shouldn't be able to defeat Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs), but he does have some advantages. He's younger than the 40-year-old boxing legend, has a two-inch reach advantage and will be the heavier fighter when they step into the ring in 73 days.The contracted weight for the fight is 154 pounds.
One person who feels "Notorious" can pull off the greatest upset in boxing history is his employer, UFC president Dana White. On Wednesday, White made a proclamation for the ages about what would happen if McGregor lands the perfect shot and does what no one else has done, which is to defeat Mayweather.
MORE: White says McGregor '100 percent confident' he'll win
“If you look at this thing and you look at how big this fight is and you look at how big these athletes are that are involved in this fight, if Conor does knock Floyd Mayweather out, (then) he is the biggest athlete on earth,” White said. “He’s the biggest athlete (on this planet), on other planets, he’s the biggest athlete. It’s pretty crazy.”
McGregor has fought everyone White has put in front of him. The list includes his first fight vs. Nate Diaz, which McGregor took on 11 days' notice prior to UFC 196, and a bout vs. Chad Mendes on 10 days' notice. Mayweather, on the other hand, has been known to be very selective about who gets to step inside the ring against.
McCARTHY: Media hype already enormous
“I always say this about Conor, and now you can say it about Floyd, too,” White said. “When you go out and you put everything on line — I’ve said this about Floyd Mayweather for years: He loves money, loves money, but that record is actually, I think, more important to him than money. For him to go out and risk that 49-0 against a guy like Conor, props to both guys for making the fight.”
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can listen to his podcast, "The Fight Club Chicago" here. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
