Mayweather vs. McGregor Megafight | UFC Betting Sites

Conor McGregor Says He’ll Beat Floyd Mayweather ‘Inside 4 Rounds’

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor said he’s planning to “break” Floyd Mayweather Jr. within four rounds during their highly anticipated boxing match next week at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
McGregor, one of the best trash-talkers in combat sport…

McGregor, one of the best trash-talkers in combat sports, made the prediction during an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s TBS talk show:

While McGregor is aiming for a quick victory, he’s also said he wouldn’t mind an extended fight with the five-division world champion, per Daniel Matthews of the Daily Mail. The UFC sensation said that might help give boxing fans more respect for MMA.

“(But) part of me is hoping that maybe he can last … part of me wants to show some skill and to dismantle him,” McGregor said Wednesday. “We are ready for absolutely every scenario. I am ready to go to war for the full 12 rounds and I’m ready to put him away in the first 10 seconds.”

He added: “I’m just looking forward to August 26 and proving what I’m saying and educating the world of what martial arts is and giving the fans and everybody a good solid fight and earning my respect in this game also.”

The 29-year-old Irishman is a sizable underdog in the high-profile, cross-sport clash, which doesn’t come as a surprise given his extremely limited boxing experience—this is his first official fight—and Mayweather’s undefeated record.

Yet, Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com noted UFC President Dana White believes it will be a competitive battle despite the large gap in experience.

“All these naysayers, let me tell you what,” he said. “This fight goes two ways. Either Floyd Mayweather runs around and does his style of fighting, defense, stays away from Conor and tries to not get hit. Conor will go right after Floyd Mayweather and try to knock him out. That’s Conor’s style. When have you ever seen a boring Conor McGregor fight?

“And then there’s the other side, where Floyd thinks that Conor is so weak at boxing he comes right after him. Speed kills, tries to use his speed and actually knock Conor McGregor out. I want it to be a good fight and I truly believe it will be a good fight.”

All told, the fact Mayweather hasn’t competed in nearly two years since his victory over Andre Berto in September 2015 gives McGregor at least a puncher’s chance. But knocking one of the best defensive fighters in history out inside the first four rounds would be a shocker.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Mayweather vs. McGregor: TV Schedule, Preview for Showtime ‘All Access’ Episode

Does Floyd Mayweather Jr. have any interest in serious training prior to his superfight with Conor McGregor?
Through the first three episodes of Showtime’s All Access: Mayweather vs. McGregor series on the huge event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas …

Does Floyd Mayweather Jr. have any interest in serious training prior to his superfight with Conor McGregor?

Through the first three episodes of Showtime’s All Access: Mayweather vs. McGregor series on the huge event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas scheduled for August 26, Mayweather has done a lot more talking than training.

He has gone on about his money, his interest in getting involved in the strip club/gentleman’s club business, his desire to have fun and about his family, but when it comes to stepping in the ring and doing some serious training, that has not been one of his priorities.

Episode 4 unfolds Friday at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime, and Mayweather’s effort to prepare for the fight should be one of the more interesting aspects of the program. There’s no guarantee that he will step up his training at this point, because it’s clear that he will prepare in the manner that he sees fit and doesn’t care what others think.

“I am going to do exactly what I want to do,” Mayweather said in a previous episode. “Nobody is going to tell me what to do.”

The ongoing saga between McGregor and Showtime boxing analyst Paulie Malignaggi is likely to play out further. In each of the last two episodes, McGregor and Malignaggi have sparred to help the UFC lightweight champ prepare for Mayweather. The Showtime cameras were turned off for the sparring sessions, but McGregor has said he has gotten the best of the former fighter.

McGregor claimed in an interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that his most recent sparring session was a 12-round fight and that he won each round. Malignaggi has dismissed the claim on The MMA Hour podcast and has asked for the tape for all 12 rounds to be released.

While that has not happened, a small snippet of Malignaggi going down to the canvas has found its way to the public. Even that is controversial, because Malignaggi says that his tumble is the result of a shove and not a punch.

In any event, it is clear that McGregor has used his time to train in a much more serious manner than Mayweather. He knows he has a huge opportunity coming up in a little over a week, and he is trying to prepare as best he can for the first official boxing match of his career.

Mayweather is taking his 49-0 record into the ring, and while he has not competed in two years, his defensive skills are not likely to have waned. While he may not be as quick as he was in his prime, it’s difficult to conceive of McGregor gaining enough skill to challenge him successfully.

The countdown to the megafight is starting to reach the critical stage.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor: Inside the Numbers Around Megafight

The best boxer of his generation. The most recognizable mixed martial artist in the world.
An international publicity tour with enough vitriol, insensitivity and contrived, microphone-friendly menace to leave media outlets of all stripes tittering like…

The best boxer of his generation. The most recognizable mixed martial artist in the world.

An international publicity tour with enough vitriol, insensitivity and contrived, microphone-friendly menace to leave media outlets of all stripes tittering like six-year-olds on a birthday cake high.

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Mayweather-McGregor.

Their Aug. 26 get-together seems destined to stretch the outer limits of internet capacity, and there is no shortage of numbers to pore over while preparing for the circus.

We’ve assembled a batch of the best ones here. So sit back, relax and get yourself ready for the fun.

0: In case you’re unaware, it’s the number of times McGregor, on the verge of facing a consensus all-time great, has stepped into a ring for an officially sanctioned amateur or professional boxing match. He has, however, had 24 mixed martial arts matches, winning 21 and scoring 18 stoppages.

5: Number of professional weight classes in which Mayweather, who began punching for pay at age 19, has won sanctioned world championships. He earned his first belt, at 130 pounds, in 1998, and has since added jewelry at 135 (2002), 140 (2005), 147 (2006) and 154 (2007).

50-0: The pro record Mayweather would reach with a win, eclipsing the 49-0 mark established by heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano between 1947 and 1955. No other widely recognized world champion has retired with a better record with zero losses and zero draws.

TMT50 and TBE50: The trademarks applied for by Mayweather Productions with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, per ESPN.com. TMT is short for “The Money Team,” while TBE stands for “The Best Ever.”

19.5 million: The number of buys Mayweather has helped generate as a pay-per-view fighter, including the three most-purchased bouts in history—2.4 million against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, 2.2 million against Canelo Alvarez in 2013 and 4.6 million against Manny Pacquiao in 2015.

$600 million: The total projected gross revenue for the bout, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, which would place it second only to the aforementioned Mayweather-Pacquiao show two years ago.

$235: The proceeds of the public assistance check cashed by McGregor, according to Yahoo Sports, shortly before his UFC debut in 2013.

$4.8 million: The price tag for the rare luxury car, a Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita, that Mayweather added to his collection in 2015, per Rolling Stone. The magazine said the ride maxes out at 254 mph and goes from 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds.

154 pounds: The agreed-upon weight for the Aug. 26 fight. Mayweather, most recently a full-time welterweight, has previously ventured into the junior middleweight for defeats of De La Hoya, Alvarez and Miguel Cotto. His heaviest weigh-in number was 151 pounds against Cotto. McGregor, meanwhile, fought at a 170-pound limit for a stoppage loss against substitute opponent Nate Diaz in 2016.

11, 1 and 2: The chronological and statutory advantages—in age (29 to Mayweather’s 40), height (5’9″ to Mayweather’s 5’8″) and reach (74 inches to Mayweather’s 72)—that McGregor will have when he enters the T-Mobile Arena.

2,170 days: The length of time, come fight night, that will have elapsed since Mayweather last scored an inside-the-distance victory, via fourth-round KO against Victor Ortiz.

13 seconds: The amount of time it took McGregor to stop Jose Aldo for his signature UFC win, capturing the organization’s featherweight (145 pounds) championship in December 2015. He’s since picked up the UFC lightweight (155 pounds) belt as well.

22 seconds: Duration of the sparring video released by the UFC showing McGregor working with former two-division world champion Paulie Malignaggi. Malignaggi has since left the McGregor camp and claimed on social media that the clip, including what McGregor labeled a knockdown, wasn’t at all representative of the 36 total minutes of sparring.

$150: The wager, according to OddsShark, required to make a $100 profit on a Mayweather victory against McGregor inside the 12-round distance. A Mayweather win by decision, incidentally, would yield $230 for a $100 bet.

$325: The profit available for a $100 bet on McGregor, again according to OddsShark, in the event the Irishman pulls off the upset. For comparison’s sake, that profit number was at $950 when the fight was first rumored last fall.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor Box Office Projections on Record-Breaking Pace

The Aug. 26 showdown between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor is on track to do record-breaking business.
UFC president Dana White addressed the expected financial implications of the Mayweather-McGregor spectacle during a Wednesday conference c…

The Aug. 26 showdown between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor is on track to do record-breaking business.

UFC president Dana White addressed the expected financial implications of the Mayweather-McGregor spectacle during a Wednesday conference call.

“This is the biggest event that has ever happened in combat sports,” White said. “This fight will reach over a billion homes worldwide.”

Rovell noted White said the fight currently has an over/under of 4.9 million total buys on pay-per-view.

“Everything is tracking right now like we’re going to kill this thing,” said White.

There has been some hand-wringing about the number of tickets sold for the fight. Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times reported Aug. 7 there were still 3,000 seats available at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe told reporters Aug. 10 that Mayweather vs. McGregor has already generated “over $60 million in the box office.”

Mark Shapiro, co-president of the WME/IMG agency that owns UFC, said Wednesday it would be “impossible for us to not break the record” of a $72.2 million gate set by the 2015 match between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, per Darren Rovell of ESPN.com.

McGregor is the biggest box-office draw in the UFC. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao sold 4.4 million buys on pay-per-view in addition to its record-setting gate.

The combination of McGregor and Mayweather looks to be big enough that the fight will establish all sorts of new box-office records.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Chill, McGregor Fans: 8-Ounce Gloves Give Him No Extra Advantage vs. Mayweather

It was the permission slip heard ’round the world.
When the Nevada Athletic Commission approved an appeal from the Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor camps Wednesday that’ll allow the fighters to use eight-ounce gloves for their imminent get-together …

It was the permission slip heard ’round the world.

When the Nevada Athletic Commission approved an appeal from the Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor camps Wednesday that’ll allow the fighters to use eight-ounce gloves for their imminent get-together in Las Vegas, those backing the Irishman puffed their chests out proudly.

Despite the safety-centric concerns of the Association of Ringside Physicians, the commission agreed to set aside the requirement—on a one-time-only basis—that 154-pound fighters use 10-ounce gloves. And because the eight-ounce mitts are a mite closer to the four-ouncers McGregor has used while building a fearsome reputation in the UFC’s Octagon, it’s been spun as a victory for Team Notorious.

But before you tap out the 401(k) for some extra pro-Conor betting cash, here’s a tip:

Don’t.

Because once the bell rings, it won’t mean a thing.

Need a reason why? Consider the source.

Remember that the suggestion for the glove switch came on Instagram from Mayweather himself, and after a two-decade run in which he’s staked out A-side high ground on nearly every negotiable item, it’s not exactly in his nature to make things easier on the guy he’s stepping in with.

He is, though, a savvy businessman and promoter, and he’s smart enough to realize the appearance of a concession—even a competitively meaningless one—is a gesture well delivered if it convinces even one casual viewer that it’s worth dropping $89.95 to see if an upset is more possible come Aug. 26.

In fact, the glove charity seems just the latest suggestion of vulnerability for the man known as Money, who indicated at a recent media workout that McGregor will arrive with myriad advantages.

“I know I’m going to see a fighter, a warrior,” Mayweather said. “I’m not going to overlook him. On paper, everything leans toward Conor McGregor. We know he’s taller, we know he has a longer reach, we know youth is on his side, everyone is saying power is on his side. I never said he’s going to beat me. I’m going to tell the people what I truly believe and what it is on paper.”

Upon further review, though, it reeks of nonsense.

While few would argue that McGregor is the power guy in the fight, simply dropping a little glove weight won’t make it any easier for him to crack the Mayweather defensive code that’s bamboozled championship-caliber boxers from 130 to 154 pounds. And even at 40 years old and coming off a two-year layoff, it’s no stretch to say an old Floyd remains a quantum leap superior to the sparring partners—Chris van Heerden and Paulie Malignaggi—the MMA star has clearly struggled to subdue.

This kinder Mayweather comes just in time to revive a publicity machine that glowed white-hot as the fighters kicked off their international press tour, which veered toward juvenile and offensive as the chatter campaign continued unedited from Los Angeles to Toronto to Brooklyn to London.

Recent reports of flagging ticket sales haven’t helped, perhaps motivating Mayweather toward additional allowances that would boost McGregor’s chances in the minds of fans. One of the reasons for the glove concession was to increase the perception that this fight could have a violently fan-friendly result.

“When it’s something of this magnitude, this is not just a fight,” Mayweather said.

“This is an event. I think we both owe the fans, as well as the public and everyone tuning in, excitement. I can say that after the fight is over on Aug. 26, everyone is going to be happy.”

No one more so than the respective fighters’ tax attorneys.

But when it comes to a real change in the competitive dynamic, it’s a bunch of blarney.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Conor McGregor Talks 8-Ounce Gloves, Challenges Floyd Mayweather on Media Call

Just 10 days away from his epic showdown against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Conor McGregor spoke with reporters on a conference call about his professional boxing debut and to silence any of the doubters about his chances to pull off the major upset.
…

One of the big questions leading up to the fight was answered Wednesday when ESPN’s Brett Okamoto passed along word the Nevada State Athletic Commission approved the request to let Mayweather and McGregor wear eight-ounce gloves.

“I’m very happy with the way the NSAC handled it today,” McGregor said during the call, via MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani. “They were very fair throughout.”

McGregor also held firm in his belief that the fight won’t go past the second round now that he gets to use a lighter glove than the traditional 10-ounce ones used in a fight contested at 154 pounds.

“There is no way in hell that I’m not ready to fight in the deepest of trenches,” McGregor said, via MMA Fighting. “I don’t believe he makes it out of the second.”

Another key piece of business announced by the NSAC was Robert Byrd being given the task of serving as referee; Burt Clements, Dave Moretti and Guido Cavalleri were chosen as the judges who will score the bout, per Steven Marrocco of MMA Junkie.

McGregor had no criticism for Byrd or any of the judges selected or the process used to choose each of them, per ESPN’s Dan Rafael.

“Byrd is a good ref,” the UFC superstar said, via MMA Fighting. “He lets the fight take place. He has some links to MMA. His wife is an MMA judge.”

Moving onto Mayweather, the man who will be standing on the opposite side of the ring trying to knock him off his perch, McGregor isn’t intimidated by stepping into his opponent’s world to determine the better fighter.

“I do not care about his record,” he said, per Rafael. “I do not care about his achievements.”

In addition to not caring about Mayweather’s record or achievements, McGregor laid into anyone who doesn’t believe his ability will translate to boxing.

“The disregard and disrespect of my skillset, their minds are closed,” said McGregor, via MMA Fighting. “I look forward to going in and educating.”

Addressing his normal day job as a UFC fighter, McGregor said he still believes himself to be both the promotion’s featherweight and lightweight champion. He was the first person in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously after beating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt last November.

However, as a result of his inactivity in the division, McGregor was stripped of the featherweight title. He still holds the lightweight title, despite not defending it since his victory over Alvarez.

McGregor issued a challenge to Mayweather while throwing the undefeated boxing star’s own words back at him:

Even though the odds of Mayweather ever stepping into the Octagon are virtually non-existent, McGregor was able to talk himself into a boxing match with one of the biggest stars in the sport.

McGregor lacks the experience and professional training going into the Aug. 26 showdown, but he’s doing everything in his power to make sure the world knows he’s going into it with his confidence high and is preparing to knock out Mayweather.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com