Mayweather vs. McGregor finalized for Aug. 26 in Las Vegas
Once thought as a long shot at best, the super-fight between boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is a done deal and will be held on August 26 in Las Vegas.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports was first to report that the fight was a done deal.
The @FloydMayweather @NotoriousMMA fight is DONE and finalized. It will be held Aug. 26 in Las Vegas. https://t.co/ZCIwr7Ewce — Kevin Iole (@KevinI) June 14, 2017
Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal first reported that the announcement could come as soon as today.
BREAKING: Sources tell the Review-Journal announcement of a mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather & Conor McGregor could come as soon as today — Adam Hill (@AdamHillLVRJ) June 14, 2017
McGregor confirmed the news, tweeting a picture of himself and Floyd Mayweather Sr.
THE FIGHT IS ON. pic.twitter.com/KhW0u3jRft — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 14, 2017
Dana White also tweeted a smiling emoji amid the reports of the fight.
😃 — Dana White (@danawhite) June 14, 2017
Earlier on Wednesday, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported that the Nevada State Athletic Commission approved a request from Mayweather Promotions to promote a boxing event on Aug. 26.
Mayweather Jr. (49-0) hasn’t fought since he retired after a unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto in September 2015.
McGregor (21-3) won his second UFC title against Eddie Alvarez in November 2016, at the time making him the only person to ever simultaneously hold two belts in the promotion as he was also the featherweight champion.
Subsequently, he was stripped of the featherweight belt.
The fight, which will be contested under boxing rules, has drawn a lot of speculation and criticism from both the boxing and MMA worlds about how the UFC champion would fare against the undefeated pugilist.
One thing that is not in dispute is that if made official, a fight between Mayweather and McGregor would have a shot at being one of the highest grossing pay-per-view events of all-time.