Having already sold the company, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta have reportedly cashed in on their remaining investment in UFC.
Forbes’ Noah Kirsch reported the pair sold their rest of their shares in UFC to WME-IMG and the company was…
Having already sold the company, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta have reportedly cashed in on their remaining investment in UFC.
Forbes‘ Noah Kirsch reported the pair sold their rest of their shares in UFC to WME-IMG and the company was valued at $5 billion as part of the transaction. The Fertitta brothers sold UFC to WME-IMG in July 2016 for roughly $4 billion.
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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Conor McGregor will be unable to fight for at least 60 days after the Nevada Athletic Commission announced its medical suspension for the reigning UFC lightweight champion Monday, according to MMA Fighting.
McGregor lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Satu…
Conor McGregor will be unable to fight for at least 60 days after the Nevada Athletic Commission announced its medical suspension for the reigning UFC lightweight champion Monday, according to MMA Fighting.
McGregor lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena in his first professional boxing fight. Mayweather won by technical knockout in the 10th round.
Even in defeat, McGregor impressed many fans who had written off his chances of winning. Some even pondered whether McGregor would step back in the ring again.
“I was actually very surprised with his ability to do certain things,” Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said, per MMAJunkie’s Fernanda Prates and John Morgan. “If he chooses to, he definitely has a future in boxing—if he chooses to. To be able to last as long as he did, he’s a very tough competitor. He has a big heart and, again, he’s showed a lot.”
UFC President Dana White, however, was less enthused with the idea of McGregor’s pursuing a boxing career.
“I would rather he did not,” White said, per theIndependent‘sLuke Brown. … “This isn’t what he does. He’s a mixed martial artist, he’s better when he uses all of his weapons. I think he did great tonight but I want to see him back in the UFC.”
White will almost certainly want to get McGregor back in the Octagon as soon as possible. With Jon Jones’positive drug test, the UFC could be without one of its biggest stars for a multiple years, exacerbating what is a general problem of building the profiles of fighters under its banner.
Take McGregor out of the equation and the company would lose its most bankable name as well. Four of UFC’s five biggest pay-per-view buyrates came with McGregor in the main event, according toTapology.
Oscar De La Hoya was openly critical of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s decision to face off with Conor McGregor on Saturday, and the Golden Boy Promotions CEO offered his two cents after Mayweather earned a 10th-round TKO victory over McGregor in Las Vegas.&nb…
Oscar De La Hoya was openly critical of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s decision to face off with Conor McGregor on Saturday, and the Golden Boy Promotions CEO offered his two cents after Mayweather earned a 10th-round TKO victory over McGregor in Las Vegas.
De La Hoya told reporters Monday he didn’t watch the fight and said Canelo Alvarez, who fights under the Golden Boy banner, would’ve knocked McGregor out inside of one round, per ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi:
During an interview onThe MMA Hourwith Ariel Helwani (h/t MMA Fighting’sMarc Raimondi), De La Hoya said he thought Mayweather had allowed McGregor to stay in the fight and win a few rounds early on.
“Because Mayweather let him. The first four of five rounds, he let him do that,” he said. “The punches are coming from different angles. It was a bit awkward to watch, actually.”
While many were impressed with McGregor’s ability to hold his own against one of the greatest boxers of his generation, it’s not as if Mayweather is in the prime of his career. He turned 40 in February and hadn’t fought in nearly two years when he stepped in the ring Saturday.
Yahoo Sports’ Chris Mannix thought McGregor would have a much harder time against younger fighters:
Regardless of De La Hoya’s opinion, Mayweather and McGregor will both be laughing all the way to the bank when they receive their full share of the revenues from the fight.
ESPN.com’sDan Rafaelreported Mayweather and McGregor are guaranteed to earn at least $100 million and $30 million, respectively. Mayweather’s purse could climb to higher than $200 million, while McGregor could make upwards of nine figures when all is said and done.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat Conor McGregor by 10th-round TKO Saturday night in Las Vegas, and with their megafight now a thing of the past, the two will head off in what are likely to be significantly diverging directions.
McGregor remains UFC’s lig…
Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat Conor McGregor by 10th-round TKO Saturday night in Las Vegas, and with their megafight now a thing of the past, the two will head off in what are likely to be significantly diverging directions.
McGregor remains UFC’s lightweight champion, having held the belt since his victory over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 last November. Not only is he one of the company’s 12 champions, he’s also arguably the biggest star in UFC.
According to Tapology, four of UFC’s five biggest pay-per-view buy rates came when McGregor was one of the headliners. UFC President Dana White will want McGregor back in the Octagon as soon as he’ll be physically ready to perform.
In June, White told MMAjunkie’s Mike Bohn and John Morgan that McGregor wants to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov on Nurmagomedov’s home soil.
“You know what Conor told me? He said, ‘I want Khabib in Russia’,” White said. “Isn’t he (expletive) awesome? He’s like, ‘I want Khabib, in Russia.’ He’s awesome. Conor McGregor is a (expletive) unicorn. There’s nothing like him. He’s working on boxing Floyd Mayweather and then he’s talking about fighting Khabib in Russia right after.”
Nurmagomedov is the No. 1 fighter listed behind McGregor in the lightweight rankings on UFC.com, but he may have to go through Tony Ferguson in order to face off with the champion.
The two went back and forth earlier this month on Twitter:
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were originally supposed to fight for the interim lightweight title at UFC 209 in March. Nurmagomedov was hospitalized prior to the bout, forcing UFC to scrap its plans.
Having McGregor fight the winner of Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson would make sense in terms of merit and timing. They’re the two best lightweight contenders, so either would be a formidable opponent. And having McGregor wait for the victor would allow him enough of a break after the Mayweather fight to physically recover and then shift gears to his mixed martial arts training after spending months honing his boxing technique.
McGregor’s relatively strong showing in the ring does, however, create the possibility he’d embrace a full-time transition to boxing. Yahoo Sports’ Chris Mannix doesn’t believe that would be an advisable pursuit:
Mayweather may be one of the greatest fighters of his generation, but he’s also clearly in the twilight of his career. Were McGregor to take on younger boxers who are in their prime, he may run into serious trouble.
While McGregor’s boxing career could potentially be getting started, Mayweather’s may finally have reached its conclusion. He told Showtime Sports’ Jim Gray Saturday’s victory will be his final fight:
Mayweather now has his 50th career win to surpass Rocky Marciano. Regardless of how he got there, Mayweather can point to his 50-0 record as the defining aspect of his legacy in the ring.
From a self-preservation perspective, Mayweather also has little reason to fight again. He’ll turn 41 in February, and although he hasn’t shown a significant decline from his prime years, leaving on top is far better than overstaying your welcome in sports.
Finances would almost certainly be the driving factor in whether Mayweather fights again.
Mayweather stands to make nine figures from this weekend, and at least some of that is going to the federal government. ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell shared a report from Law360 that stated Mayweather’s representatives asked the IRS to wait until after the McGregor fight for Mayweather to pay his $22.2 million outstanding tax bill.
Further financial difficulties down the road could offer an incentive for Mayweather to continue his boxing career.
Even if he never needs to make another dollar to live comfortably for the rest of his life, the prospect of another nine-figure payday could entice Mayweather to step in the ring for the 51st time.
The only hangup there is that it’s hard to see who Mayweather could fight to make that happen. He has already fought Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao, and a rematch with either guy probably wouldn’t break any revenue records. In addition, Keith Thurman doesn’t have the broad popularity of Alvarez or Pacquiao.
Gennady Golovkin would be a blockbuster opponent for Mayweather, but there’s virtually no chance he would put his perfect record on the line against someone with Golovkin’s skill and punching power.
Few expected Mayweather to fight McGregor until the fight was actually announced, so a return for Mayweather shouldn’t be ruled out completely.
But the odds are fight fans saw the last of Mayweather as an active boxer Saturday night.
Far exceeding the expectations of many fans, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor delivered an entertaining spectacle Saturday night in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Mayweather steadily wore down McGregor from the halfway point of the fight. Sensing hi…
Far exceeding the expectations of many fans, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor delivered an entertaining spectacle Saturday night in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Mayweather steadily wore down McGregor from the halfway point of the fight. Sensing his opening, Mayweather went on the offensive in the 10th round, and after McGregor absorbed multiple blows without firing back, the referee called for the bell.
Considering McGregor had never boxed professionally before, he made a strong account for himself in the ring. CBSSports.com’s Brian Campbell put his 111 landed punches into perspective:
The definitive nature of the result left little in the way of controversy. Even before the referee stoppage, Mayweather was clearly ahead despite McGregor’s strong start in the early rounds. According to MMAjunkie, the three judges had scored the fight 87-83, 89-82, 89-81 in favor of Mayweather through nine rounds.
Mayweather was similarly dominant over Manny Pacquiao in his unanimous decision victory in May 2015, but in that case, Pacquiao fans could point to Pac-Man’s shoulder injury as justification for a potential rematch. By their line of thinking, Pacquiao would have had a better chance had he been 100 percent at the time of the fight.
There were no such considerations for McGregor. He left everything in the ring and simply couldn’t match up with Mayweather.
In his post-fight interview with Showtime Sports’ Jim Gray, McGregor did indicate he would have liked to have seen the referee let the fight go on a little longer, but he didn’t offer much of an argument with the final decision (Warning: video contains NSFW language):
Less so a point of controversy and more a topic of discussion is whether McGregor should make a permanent transition to boxing and away from mixed martial arts.
ESPN.com’sDan Rafaelreported McGregor is set to make at least $30 million for Saturday’s bout with Mayweather—a figure that could climb into the nine figures. In comparison, he earned$27 millionfrom his UFC 202 and 205 fights in 2016.
“McGregor definitely has a future in boxing, if he chooses to,” Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said, per MMA Fighting. “To be able to last as long as he did. He’s very tough. Big heart.”
Unsurprisingly, UFC President Dana White was less enthusiastic about McGregor stepping in the ring again.
White told reporters he “would rather [McGregor] did not” pursue a boxing career and that “I don’t think there’s anything left to prove,” per ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi.
White and UFC certainly have a vested interest in McGregor getting back inside the Octagon. According to Tapology, four of UFC’s five biggest pay-per-view buy rates came in shows where McGregor was in the main event.
And with Jon Jones’ positive drug test—which would carry a lengthy suspension unless he’s cleared—the company is starved for bankable stars. Losing McGregor, Jones and Ronda Rousey, who appears to be done with MMA, in the space of a year would be devastating for UFC’s bottom line.
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