It was just over a year ago that I noted, ?The name Floyd Mayweather Jr. never seems to be far from the lips of the UFC?s two biggest stars, Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey,? before making the argument that MMA?s most prominent pair were merely trying to muscle their way into and bathe briefly in a bigger star?s glow with their contemptuous utterances.
Of course, the media was often responsible for inserting Mayweather?s name into the mouths of Rousey and McGregor in 2015, but ?Rowdy? Ronda and ?The Notorious? one spat it back out with an obvious gusto.
?Money May? in contrast didn?t seem particularly interested in discussing the whole boxing vs MMA story when he was quizzed by the press.
Fast-forward to April of 2016 and things had changed significantly.
Shortly after rumours of a possible pugilistic encounter between McGregor and Mayweather hit the internet, the supposedly retired boxer claimed that he was actually the source of those murmurs.
Most observers were quick to dismiss the possibility of such a fight materializing, and many suggested that this was an attempt on Mayweather?s behalf to remain relevant in a world that seemed to be slowly forgetting him.
It was an understandable theory, no doubt.
Mayweather?s long-awaited super-fight with Manny Pacquiao in May of 2015 was a Pay-per-view(PPV) bonanza but it disappointed the majority of fans and Floyd?s retirement bout against Andre Berto four months later achieved the sort of paltry buy-rate that it deserved ? somewhere between 400,000 and 550,000 people handed their money over to see the great fighter?s swansong. Actually, that?s a great deal more attention than this mismatch deserved.
By the time the McGregor/Mayweather rumours began, Floyd hadn?t boxed in 7 months and he was almost a year removed from his bout with Pacquiao.
In the meantime, McGregor and Rousey had taken over as the biggest stars in combat sports.
Rousey was in the middle of a hiatus after a devastating loss, but that defeat had garnered somewhere in the region of 1.1 million PPV buys. McGregor was flourishing to a much greater degree. The Irishman?s 13-second demolition of Jose Aldo reportedly drew close to 1.2 million buys and his March defeat to Nate Diaz hit an even bigger number. What?s more, the the powerful and precise southpaw striker?s stock only seemed to continue growing following that loss, especially in the wake of the now infamous ?retirement? saga and his stand-off with UFC brass.
McGregor?s subsequent rematch with Diaz drew a UFC record 1.65 million PPV buys. This time, the 28-year-old also got the victory.
But McGregor didn?t sit back and take time out to admire his work. A little under 3 months after he topped Diaz via majority decision in a thrilling war at UFC 202, the hyperactive Dubliner headlined the promotion?s first ever card in New York City. The estimates for UFC 205 have yet to be released, but company officials have said that it was one of the most viewed PPV cards in UFC history and the show set a new Madison Square Garden record at the gate.
McGregor also entered the sort of spectacularly violent performance against Eddie Alvarez that is likely to keep existing fans coming back for more, whilst drawing in new consumers in their thousands.
The degree to which McGregor?s Twitter following has changed recently also provides some perspective. In August of last year, he had just 668,000 followers compared to Floyd?s 7 million. Now some 2.98 million people regularly devour his 140-character musings. At the time of writing, Mayweather was still only a shade over the 7 million mark.
So, when Mayweather launched into a tirade recently after a tireless minion of TMZ Sports had the temerity to compare he and McGregor, his protestations appeared a little desperate. A willing promoter of McGregor?s talents a few months ago when it seemed to suit him, Mayweather claimed that such a comparison was disrespectful.
?Elephants don?t beef with ants,? Mayweather said at the conclusion of his rant.
When I wrote my aforementioned article last year, McGregor may indeed have appeared like a minuscule and insignificant creature in Mayweather?s enormous shadow. With the assistance of Chad Mendes, he had just drawn 875,000 PPV buys while Mayweather was just a few months removed from absolutely smashing the all-time PPV record opposite Pacquiao ? ?The Fight of the Century? drew a ludicrous 4.6 million buys.
However, in November 2016, McGregor is certainly no ant. The UFC lightweight champion has taken up the PPV crown and if Floyd wants it back, he will have to prove that he still has the appeal to draw massive numbers.
It?s not just that McGregor is more relevant at present either. A closer examination of the PPV numbers suggests that the brash UFC fighter?s star power is also comparable to what Mayweather?s was even at the height of his fame.
Sure, McGregor?s 1.65 millions buys vs Diaz at UFC 202 is way below the gargantuan number hit by Mayweather and Pacquiao, but comparing those figures is somewhat unfair. In Manny, Floyd had an opponent that brought tremendous drawing power to the table. The Filipino icon had drawn a million buys or more on six occasions before he fought Mayweather.
Diaz certainly has his fans and his recognition amongst the casual MMA audience grew immensely between his first fight with McGregor and the rematch, but the Stockton native had never even headlined a PPV event prior to UFC 196.
It?s interesting to note that while McGregor has been achieving impressive numbers with the likes of Aldo, Diaz and Eddie Alvarez, who aren?t well known outside the hardcore MMA fanbase, Mayweather has achieved all of his biggest PPV numbers with the aid of fellow mega-stars.
Other than the Pacquaio fight, Mayweather?s most purchased bouts were against Oscar De La Hoya, a huge draw amongst the massive Mexican-American demographic, and Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez, another man capable of hitting healthy figures without Mayweather?s help. De La Hoya was the biggest star of boxing?s pre-Mayweather era, and ?Canelo? has arguably become the biggest star of the post-Mayweather era.
Mayweather has never drawn a number as large as McGregor?s 1.65 million with anybody other than De La Hoya, ?Canelo? or Pacquiao. His bouts with Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto did 1.4 and 1.5 million buys respectively, but that?s as close as he has come. And both those men were proven stars prior to facing Floyd.
Of course, as one would expect, much of Mayweather?s TMZ rant consisted of two things, him talking about the money he has made and boasting about that oh so pristine record of his.
McGregor will never be able to erase the blemishes on his ledger, that much is certain, but to detract from the reputation of a world class MMA fighter for such a thing is ludicrous. In boxing, undefeated records are much more commonplace than in mixed combat due, at least in part, to the fact that there are so many more ways to win/lose in MMA than in pure pugilism and that four ounce gloves leave so little room for error.
But Floyd was always likely to go there.
As far as the money goes, the one-time ?Pretty Boy? has a point. McGregor?s earnings pale in comparison to Mayweather?s over the last decade or so of his career. But let?s not forget that Conor is just 28 years old and a 28-year-old Floyd certainly wasn?t cashing $100 million cheques. Maybe there isn?t enough wiggle room within the confines of the UFC business model to allow McGregor to ever take home that kind of cash, but with every fight, his cheques continue to get bigger and bigger. He is constantly testing the boundaries. And who says that his future necessarily lies within the UFC?s restrictive model anyway.
In a world where some, rightly or wrongly (wrongly!), are comparing McGregor with Muhammad Ali, Mayweather should not feel slighted by similar comparisons. Especially when one considers some of the parallels that do exist between he and the SBG product.
Here we have two talented fighters, both of whom respect the fact that the fight game and the fight business are inseparably intertwined. Both of whom refused to be exploited by promoters like so many other fighters before them. Both of whom have displayed a business savvy and a flair for promotion that has allowed them to change the face of their respective sports completely.
Two elephants among colonies of ants.
Perhaps that?s all that poor TMZ reporter meant.
