SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
June - 2016
25
of whether McGregor
is even competitive in a
boxing match with May-
weather or not, there are
several reasons the UFC
should act as a facilitator
here.
First and foremost think
about the exposure a po-
tential Mayweather vs.
McGregor fight would
bring to the UFC brand.
The UFC has always been
about the brand above
the fighters anyway, why
not take that mentality to
the extreme? Why not of-
fer up McGregor as a sac-
rificial lamb to bring new
eyes to the brand? No one
would actually think Mc-
Gregor has a chance so
there really isn’t anything
to lose from that stand-
point.
Aside from the exposure,
allowing McGregor to box
would likely pacify their
biggest star. After the UFC
200 main event debacle
between the two parties,
it seems like the relation-
ship between McGregor
and UFC brass has degrad-
ed greatly. Supporting Mc-
Gregor in this endeavor
would quickly mend that
bridge.
The UFC likes to have total
control of their fighters,
but McGregor has shown
he is more than willing to
push back and challenge
the status quo. The UFC
could use this as an op-
portunity to change the
narrative of how they deal
with their talent. Allow-
ing a little more freedom
in some aspects could, in
turn, create greater con-
trol and leverage in others.
Above all else the fight
game is a business and
given the UFC’s contract
with McGregor this could
be an incredible cash grab
opportunity. Mayweather
could be fighting a blind
bum and it would sell at
least one million pay per
view buys. The UFC could
stand to make a signifi-
cant sum of money with
little to no effort on their
end.
Worst case scenario the
UFC would take a 10%
share of the revenue split
for simply allowing the
bout to take place. Best
case scenario the UFC
could fully co-promote the
event with Mayweather
for a 40-50% split. If the
bout were to do anything
close to what Mayweath-
er vs. Manny Pacquiao
did – given McGregor’s
mass appeal and the spec-
tacle of the bout there
is no reason to think it
wouldn’t – the UFC would
stand to rake in upwards
of $200 million. That is a
lot of money to leave on
the table; that is easily five
to ten times what the UFC
would make by having
McGregor fight at a UFC
event. And that doesn’t
even touch what the Ve-
gas odds would bring in;
as discussed on the Sea-
son Ticket Podcast, the
numbers would likely be
through the roof.
Between the exposure,
money and relationship-
mending with McGregor,
the UFC should be inclined
to try and make some-
thing happen here. By all
accounts, the juice would
be worth the squeeze for
the organization given
McGregor doesn’t have
an unbeaten mystique to
maintain. Even though it’s
highly unlikely, just imag-
ine what a McGregor win
would do for the UFC. The
company’s value would
likely double overnight.
There are plenty of rea-
sons not to let this bout
happen and it would be
hard to imagine the UFC
actually going along with
McGregor vs. Mayweath-
er, but they absolutely
should.
