Floyd Mayweather Claims Conor McGregor’s Fame Exploded After Their $300M Showdown

Floyd Mayweather fires a fresh shot at Conor McGregor nearly a decade later.© NDTV Photo Library

Floyd Mayweather has argued that Conor McGregor's global fame and earning power have undergone massive changes since their historic showdown in 2017. He argued that the Irishman borrowed much of his promotional swagger from him. Speaking on the PBD Podcast, the retired five-division world champion dismissed the idea that McGregor was combat sports' greatest self-promoter. The American said his own star power and the scale of their Las Vegas fight transformed McGregor's career. Mayweather estimated he made around $300 million from the bout. He also suggested McGregor “ate good” as well.

Mayweather claims McGregor learned from their mega-fight

Floyd Mayweather's argument rests on a simple comparison: what McGregor earned and commanded before August 2017 and what followed. “His career wasn't like that before,” he said, before questioning what the former UFC champion's biggest payday or biggest fight had been prior to their meeting.

“The guy that took my whole swag and took it over there to the UFC? As soon as Conor McGregor faced Floyd Mayweather, I mean, he was big as life,” Mayweather added.

According to him, McGregor did not merely share a ring with him; he absorbed a blueprint for selling a fight that he later carried back into mixed martial arts.

Mayweather vs McGregor's record-breaking revenue still stuns combat sports

There is little dispute over the financial scale of “The Money Fight". The fight generated 4.3 million domestic pay-per-view buys and more than $600 million in total revenue.

Its $55.4 million gate at T-Mobile Arena was, at the time, the second-highest in boxing history, behind only Mayweather's 2015 meeting with Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather's own estimate of roughly $300 million broadly matches later reporting. According to Forbes, his earnings from boxing were estimated at $275 million, along with an additional $10 million from endorsements.

As per reports, Conor McGregor's take was around $85 million more than five times his previous top purse. Some estimates have placed his total closer to $100 million once wider revenue streams are included.

​Floyd Mayweather's version of events, however, overlooks how big McGregor already was before boxing. The Irishman had won UFC titles at featherweight and lightweight and fought in several pay-per-views. He became one of the promotion's most marketable athletes long before he made his professional boxing debut.

Nearly nine years on, Mayweather remains convinced that the credit belongs to him. McGregor has not responded to the remarks.