Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor Fall Short Of PPV Record With 2017 Fight

It turns out that Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor didn’t have the biggest fight of all time after all. Their boxing match on Aug. 26 reportedly generated 4.4 million pay-per-view buys, falling just shy of the record-setting 4.6 PPVs sold by Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2015.

During the two-month build towards the fight, which included a four-city press tour in the middle of July, there was talk that the undefeated boxer and the UFC star might set a new mark and possibly approach five million buys. Mayweather and McGregor will have to settle for second-best, according to BoxingScene, and an official announcement could come later this week.

Finishing at No.2 is an achievement, nonetheless, as the bout sits comfortably ahead of the third-best selling fight in history. Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya sold 2.4 million PPVs in 2017, setting a then-record that stood for eight years. The Sept. 16 fight between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez could approach No.3 when the final numbers come in.

The PPV numbers might be considered a disappointment to those that had hopes of shattering the record. That seemed to be a possibility, especially when it appeared that UFC president Dana White indicated the fight might have sold more than six million buys.

That, however, was probably never realistic, and the fight should be considered a major success.

Mayweather-McGregor easily finished behind Mayweather-Pacquiao in terms of live-gate numbers. Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena sold a little more than 13,000 tickets for more than $55 million. That pales in comparison to the $72 million generated by more than 16,219 tickets sold two years ago.

Alvarez and Golovkin had a $27 million live gate, which was good for third all time.

The UFC doesn’t release official PPV numbers, but McGregor’s fight with Mayweather sold at least two times as many buys as his biggest MMA fight. McGregor’s fights in 2016 are three of the four best-selling bouts in UFC history.

McGregor will easily earn the biggest payday of his career. He was guaranteed $30 million, having never been promised more than $3 million for a UFC fight. The UFC lightweight champion could make $100 million when he receives his final portion of the PPV and live-gate revenue.

Mayweather received a $100 million check for fighting McGregor, matching his guaranteed payday for fighting Pacquiao. His final earnings could fall anywhere between $250 million and $300 million.

In terms of public perception, Mayweather-McGregor is held in much higher esteem than Mayweather-Pacquiao. Mayweather’s 12-round decision over Pacquiao is largely considered to be a boring fight that wasn’t worth the $100 it cost to order on PPV. Mayweather and McGregor provided much more action, concluding with Mayweather’s first knockout in six years in the 10th round.

Mayweather claims he is retired for good and won’t make another comeback. McGregor intends to return to the octagon, though the amount of money he made for his first foray into boxing has some people believing that he might not be done with the sport just yet.