The UFC has decided to take a backseat in the role of promoter for the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight.
News that McGregor and Mayweather have agreed to fight on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas was officially announced on Wednesday. What’s interesting is that the fight will be promoted by Mayweather’s company — Mayweather Promotions, which will put on the entire card. The card will be televised by Showtime. That means the UFC, a large MMA promotional company that puts on pay-per-view events independently, will not be taking on its usual role of putting on the fight.
The development between the companies should not be too surprising, considering the fight is happening in a boxing setting and on a boxing fight card.
So what does the UFC get out of it? Well, having McGregor fight Mayweather will increase the UFC star’s fame, which should help him and their company for future fights involving him. They are also likely getting paid millions for allowing McGregor to fight, and they won’t have to do as much work as if they were putting on the show. It’s actually not a bad deal for them.
