Skeptics may be viewing the upcoming Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight as a spectacle, but that’s not stopping the fight from potentially becoming the biggest pay-per-view bout in history.
UFC president Dana White spoke on a conference call with the media Wednesday about the fight. On the call, White said that the fight is tracking to be the biggest ever on pay-per-view.
White: #MayMac is tracking to be the biggest commercial PPV ever.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) August 16, 2017
Dana saying everything he sees is saying the PPV will do over 4.9m buys.
— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) August 16, 2017
Mayweather’s 2016 fight with Manny Pacquiao set a record with 4.6 million pay-per-view buys. That fight included two of the biggest names in boxing and finally brought together two fighters the fans had been dying to see face each other in the ring for years. McGregor comes from a different sport and has a massive fan base, so when you combine his drawing power in MMA with Floyd’s in boxing, it’s no surprise that this thing could do five million buys.
The fight also received an interesting twist on Wednesday when the Nevada Athletic Commission voted unanimously to allow the two men to box in 8-ounce gloves.
The state’s typical rules necessitate 10-ounce gloves for fights taking place at 147 pounds or above. Mayweather and McGregor are fighting at a weight limit of 154 pounds, but they petitioned the commission for a waiver to allow them to fight with the 8-ounce gloves. The commission approved the one-time waiver via a 5-0 vote on Wednesday.
Financial terms of the fight have not been disclosed. However, Mayweather has talked about making in the $300 million range for the fight, while McGregor has talked about making around $100 million.
