The biggest holdup in making the boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather a reality appears to be money. Both fighters are looking to make nine-figure paydays for what would undoubtedly become one of the highest-selling pay-per-views in history.
Mayweather wants a guaranteed paycheck of $100 million to come out of retirement, and there is a precedent for the boxer earning such a large purse. It’s how much he was paid to face Manny Pacquiao in 2015, and he eventually made more than twice that amount after receiving a cut of the PPV revenue.
McGregor has asked for a $100 million payday, as well, but Mayweather isn’t ready to agree to those terms. While McGregor is the UFC’s biggest star, he’s never had a purse of more than $3 million or even come close to approaching a nine-figure payday when factoring in his cut of the PPV revenue.
Mayweather contends he offered McGregor a purse of $15 million in addition to a portion of the PPV revenue. When UFC president Dana White offered both fighters $25 million to make the boxing match, Mayweather scoffed at the proposal.
Before you ask for $25M, be worth more than $25M. You have the "2" and the "5" right but you meant to say $2.5M not $25M. pic.twitter.com/07vaWF0hen
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) January 19, 2017
Considering he’s made $700 million in his boxing career, Mayweather could very well be worth over half a billion dollars. It’s impossible to calculate McGregor’s exact net worth, but it’s almost certainly well north of $2.5 million.
Headlining three fight cards in 2016 that all ranked among the highest-selling PPVs in UFC history, McGregor has earned well into eight figures during his MMA career.
Some reports claimed McGregor made close to $10 million for his loss against Nate Diaz at UFC 196. The rematch at UFC 202 on Aug. 20 became the highest-selling UFC PPV of all time, and McGregor was guaranteed a $3 million payday. Even if his final paycheck for UFC 202 wasn’t $25 million like he claimed, it was likely more than he earned for the first Diaz fight.
McGregor was guaranteed $3 million again at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, and he’s said his total 2016 earnings could have approached $40 million. Forbes estimated that McGregor actually made $22 million in 2016, and the publication put Mayweather at $44 million.
McGregor hasn’t had the same kind of success that Mayweather has with PPV. The boxer’s fight with Pacquiao set a record with more than four million PPV buys, and even his 2013 fight against Canelo Alvarez topped two million. McGregor has never reached those numbers, and UFC PPV sales are much more reliant on the undercard than boxing PPV buys.
But Mayweather might be overestimating his drawing power compared to that of McGregor. The boxer’s last fight reportedly sold somewhere between 400,000 and 550,000 PPV buys, a far cry from anything McGregor did in 2016. UFC 202 reportedly sold at least 1.65 million PPV buys, and between his other two bouts, McGregor helped sell around four million total buys last year.
Mayweather might very well be the bigger draw, but McGregor has proven that the gap between the two top names in their respective sports is getting smaller.
Conor McGregor, pictured during the UFC 205 weigh-ins at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 11, 2016 in New York City, continues to take shots at Floyd Mayweather. Photo: Getty Images
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