Could Conor McGregor trump Floyd Mayweather as PPV king?
Conor McGregor is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars the UFC has ever seen, but is it possible that he could eventually top pay-per-view king Floyd Mayweather as the largest money draw in the history of combat sports?
UFC president Dana White addressed that very question while appearing on the Colin Cowherd show this week on FOX Sports Radio when asked about Mayweather's ability to draw huge numbers despite not actually being a very exciting fighter.
On the other hand, not only is McGregor a massive financial boon for the UFC in both ticket sales and pay-per-views but through his first six fights with the promotion, he's finished five of them by knockout or TKO.
While Mayweather eventually became a star, most notably after his fight with Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, McGregor has been a top name in the UFC almost since the first day he arrived in the promotion.
"The difference is Floyd's been around for 20 years. Let me tell you what, Floyd didn't burst onto the scene as fast as Conor McGregor did," White said.
During his career, Mayweather had eight fights that attracted over one million pay-per-view buys and took part in the biggest money bout of all time when he faced Manny Pacquiao last year with 4.4 million buys.
McGregor obviously has a long, long way to go before even coming close to those kinds of gaudy numbers, but considering he's only six fights into his UFC career, there's still plenty of time for him to catch up to Mayweather.
On Saturday night, McGregor will face his toughest challenge to date as he takes on Jose Aldo, who has been undefeated for over nine years and is the only featherweight champion the UFC has ever known.
If McGregor gets past him, his star will rise much like Mayweather's did against De La Hoya and from there the sky's the limit for the Irish fighter with an entire nation behind him.
"If he can stick around for a while and stay unbeaten in the UFC, it will be very interesting," White said. "I agree with you 100 percent. This guy has been around for a couple of years and look at the impact he has made in the combat sports world.
"Floyd's been around for 20 -- imagine if Conor McGregor was around for 20 years."
