LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor posted on their social media Wednesday that “It’s Official!!!” and “The Fight Is On,” hours after an Aug. 26 fight date at the MGM Grand was approved by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
The August fight date was also confirmed by Showtime executive vice president Stephen Espinoza.
Mayweather Promotions secured the Showtime pay-per-view date, setting up a novel showdown between the 40-year-old Mayweather (49-0), who retired as boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, and McGregor, the UFC’s only simultaneous two-division champion.
Though Mayweather’s supreme skill, seen in his one-sided victory over Manny Pacquiao in 2015, is viewed as the top reason that McGregor is considered more than a 25-1 underdog, the brash Irishman’s verbal ability and striking power create intrigue to help sell a fight that could potentially challenge Mayweather-Pacquiao’s 4.6 million pay-per-view buys.
Thanks to months of taunts, McGregor goaded former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo into pursuing a quick knockout in their 2015 meeting. Instead, Aldo rushed into a left-handed punch and was finished in a title-fight-record 13 seconds.
McGregor later avenged a loss to Nate Diaz with sharp boxing skills, and he decked then-lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez repeatedly before finishing him in November.
Mayweather’s resume includes boxing sessions against world-class pugilists Oscar De La Hoya, Diego Corrales, Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez and Pacquiao.
MGM Grand was also the venue for the record-shattering $72-million live gate for Mayweather’s victory over Pacquiao.
Mayweather, his manager, Al Haymon, and UFC President Dana White were said to be still negotiating purse splits and pay-per-view percentages when McGregor first posted his news.
Though some insiders speculated the date was too soon, given the need for training time, both fighters have recently posted photos of themselves in the gym, and the date is ideal for McGregor, who has told White he’d like to fight once in the UFC as well before the end of the year.
While Mayweather, 40, has been sidelined since announcing his retirement following a victory over Andre Berto in September 2015, McGregor has been off since producing the striking clinic in winning the lightweight (155-pound) belt from Alvarez in November in the main event of the UFC’s first Madison Square Garden card.
McGregor has taken this year off because of the birth of his son.
The placement of the fight at the MGM Grand might seem odd considering that Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena seats about 4,000 more fans, but a fight promotional expert said the MGM Grand is ideal because it allows Mayweather and Haymon to dictate prices to ticket brokers.
“They know the formula, know what the supply and demand will be,” said the official, who declined to be identified because he’s employed by a rival promoter.
“By adding in 4,000 extra seats, the brokers might’ve tried to say, ‘We’re not paying that … ,’ but now they really have no choice.”
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
Twitter: @latimespugmire