Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor: How Many PPV Buys Will The Fight Do?

When Floyd Mayweather defeated Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2015 to cement his spot as the greatest boxer of his generation, he also shattered the record for pay-per-view buys. Just two years later, the 40-year-old could make even more history in his super-fight against Conor McGregor.

Mayweather-Pacquiao generated 4.6 million buys after what was essentially a six-year build for the welterweight championship fight. Mayweather-McGregor hasn’t been nearly as long in the making, but the buzz leading up to the bout on Aug. 26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is unlike anything the world of combat sports has ever seen before.

READ: Floyd Mayweather Accuses Conor McGregor Of “Disrespecting Black Women”

“It’s different. It’s a totally different feel. There’s nowhere that I go, any of my team, definitely Floyd, where people aren’t talking about Mayweather-McGregor,” Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, told reporters Thursday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“This shit is big. I’m not even gonna front. It’s big. People can downplay it and call it whatever they want. This is Big. BIG. ”

Ellerbe’s comments came on Day 3 of a four-day promotional tour for the fight between the biggest name in boxing and UFC’s No.1 star. The fighters traveled to Los Angeles, Toronto, New York City and London, creating even more interest in the bout.

Mayweather and McGregor dominated the headlines last week, trending on social media during each of their press conferences. UFC president Dana White said Tuesday’s event in Los Angeles generated 12 million views on the UFC’s Facebook page alone.

“It definitely translates to the biggest fight of all time,” White said.

“The numbers are astronomical. This fight is a global fight. It’s a fight that the whole world is watching, the whole world is interested in.”

Bovada.lv has set the over/under for potential PPV buys at 4.99 million. With the betting odds on the over set at -200 less than six weeks before the fight, the indication is that Mayweather and McGregor are expected to sell at least five million PPVs.

Mayweather retired from the sport after beating Andre Berto on Sept. 12, 2015, improving his record to 49-0. McGregor doesn’t have one professional boxing match on his resume, and he enters the bout as a heavy underdog. But with so much interest in the fight and hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, an agreement was made last month.

McGregor and Mayweather had been taking shots at each other through social media and the press over the last year. As Mayweather was being asked about a possible return, McGregor became the biggest star in combat sports, winning fights in three different weight classes over the course of an 11-month span.

“Literally anywhere I went it was the only thing people would talk to me about,” White said. “I would go to promote another fight and people would talk to me about Mayweather-McGregor. It was nutty.”

A portion of the boxing world has spoken out against the fight because McGregor is not a professional boxer. Even if the UFC lightweight champion has little chance to defeat Mayweather, the general public will pay the $99.95 required to order the fight on Aug. 26.

“This is a big event that the fans have demanded. The fans want this, and we’re talking about casual fans,” Ellerbe said.

The UFC doesn’t release official PPV numbers, but McGregor has been the main attraction in some of the company’s biggest events ever. His three fights in 2016 likely generated more than four million total PPV buys.

Only three boxing PPVs in history have ever generated more than two million buys. All of them featured Mayweather in the main event.

READ: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor Ticket Prices, PPV Cost

“You can’t get mad at us because we figured this shit out and we've done things the right way,” Ellerbe continued. “We found a way to go out and take this thing to a whole other level. We did this. You can’t get mad because the people are receptive to it and they embrace it because this is what they want. It’s called entertainment. We’re in a society now where it’s what people want to see. You can sit there and say whatever you want to. People are intrigued about the Kardashians. How can you be mad at anybody for that?”

If the fight does set a new PPV record, Mayweather could make well over $200 million, possibly approaching a $300 million payday. McGregor could earn nine figures for the first time in his career.