Conor McGregor PPV Interview Elicits Response From Floyd Mayweather

A Conor McGregor PPV interview reportedly brought 5,000 to the EventCity Exhibition Center in Manchester, England. It was in this interview that the UFC lightweight champion talked about everything from his UFC career to the WWE and a possible fight with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.

It was the talk about Floyd Mayweather that had many people talking, including the boxer himself. Floyd, who has a boxing record of 49-0, spoke in an interview with The Independent about the possibility of a fight with Conor McGregor, and from the sound of it, the fight will happen.

“That’s the only fight that will get me back in the ring. He’s going to do a job on his side and we are going to do a job on my side and hopefully all the fans in the UK come over and support me. I don’t know (when it will be), I need to communicate with my team, the fight hasn’t been made yet, but it is all about entertainment so hopefully we can make it happen.”

At the Conor McGregor PPV interview, the UFC champ said that it could happen and could also be the first billion dollar fight. He said that the fight should happen at the end of 2017 or at the start of 2018. While this is still only a rumor, the fight should be a straight boxing match, as McGregor got his boxing license last year.

The problem right now is whether or not the two fighters will find someone to pay them what they want to take on the fight. Floyd Mayweather was paid over $100 million to face Manny Pacquiao, and he wants that much to go up against Conor McGregor.

MMA Junkie reported that Dana White offered each man $25 million plus a split of the PPV proceeds to fight, but Mayweather turned the offer down. The $25 million would be the most that Conor McGregor ever made for a fight. Forbes reported that the UFC paid McGregor $3 million for his second PPV bout with Nate Diaz, and Conor claims he walked with $25 million after PPV bonus money.

After hearing the responses from the two fighters concerning the $25 million offer, MMA Mania reported that Dana White said in an interview that Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather had as much chance of happening as he has of playing in Super Bowl 51 as Tom Brady’s backup.

Of course, the comments from the Conor McGregor PPV interview and from the recent Floyd Mayweather interview makes it sound like they will move on to the fight with or without Dana White and the UFC. While the UFC seems the more popular company to host the PPV, they have never paid fighters more than the $3 million purse that Conor McGregor got, and Ronda Rousey recently matched at her December PPV appearance.

However, the boxing world pays much more for their PPV bouts. The Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao payout was a guaranteed $100 million purse. According to MMA Mania, Floyd made between $220 million and $230 million. Manny Pacquiao made around $150 million.

It makes sense that a Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather fight would take place in the boxing world if the two fighters want the money they are looking for. However, that doesn’t look like it can legally happen.

In an interview with Fox Sports, Dana White completely dismissed Floyd Mayweather and said that Conor McGregor was under contract to the UFC, so he is the promoter. White then went on to say in the interview that McGregor was the selling point if the two fight on PPV because Conor McGregor is a star and people are sick of Floyd Mayweather.

He pointed out that Floyd Mayweather got a little over 350,000 PPV buys for his last PPV appearance while Conor McGregor got 1.2 and 1.3 million for his last two PPV fight appearances.

“I’m going to tell you why Conor McGregor is still doing over a million pay-per-view buys and Floyd isn’t. Because Conor McGregor will fight anybody, anywhere, anytime, including Floyd Mayweather. He absolutely is that guy.”

Conor McGregor PPV interview makes it sound like he really wants to fight Floyd Mayweather. While Floyd said in his interview that he wants the fight as well, something has to happen concerning the money paid to the fighters. If the fight really happens in 2017 or 2018, Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather on PPV will be a huge success, but both men have to be willing to compromise.

[Featured Image by Michael Reaves/Getty Images]