Boxing vs MMA: Will There Be Another Crossover Match this year?

It probably goes without saying that the boxing match that received the most attention last year was Mayweather vs. McGregor.

On Saturday 26^th August 2017, Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought Conor McGregor in what was labelled ‘The Money Fight’. This saw eleven-time champion, Mayweather, in a ring with the UFC Lightweight Champion and mixed martial arts (MMA) world champion, McGregor.

The match took place in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena inthe light-middleweight weight class, with Mayweather winning by a technical knockout (TKO) during the tenth round. This took Mayweather’s undefeated streak to 50 matches.

Their winnings?

McGregor took home $30,000,000 and Mayweather pocketed $100,000,000 – but reports suggest they both earnt far more than this ($100,000,000 and $300,000,000 respectively).

Could we be seeing another crossover match anytime soon?

Boxing vs. MMA

If you ask Conor McGregor what he thinks, he says we should expect there to be more crossover fights between MMA and boxing.

Despite many people, boxing fans in particular, feeling as though there wouldn’t be any competition between two, McGregor felt that they’d be proven wrong and would be left wanting more.

But what about Mayweather?

Well, reports suggest that there could even be a re-match between McGregor and Mayweather in the UFC.

At the end of last year, UFC commentator, Joe Ragan, said that Mayweather had mentioned that he’d be interested in having a bout in MMA. According to Ragan, Dana White had confirmed that he’d spoken to the boxer to fight inside the Octagon. about doing a deal in the UFC, which would see Mayweather making an appearance

When questioned about whether or not this was true, they referenced the most recent fight between McGregor and Mayweather, saying if that happened, anything can happen. This has led people to believe there could be another fight in the not too distant future.

Who Else Might Be Interested?

Aside from the two who have already taken part in a crossover match, would any other boxers be interested?

Well, Anthony Joshua would be willing to accept a cage fight or take to the boxing ring with an MMA artist in the future. Before The Money Match took place, Joshua said he could see the appeal of the match, despite it being heavily criticised by many. Speaking to Press Association Sport he said that he liked fighting and would ‘do thing they couldn’t do was submissions. He’d let them bite, elbow and kick but whatever’. He admitted that he’d probably get beaten, saying that the only there couldn’t be any submissions.

Joshua said he couldn’t beat a guy with submissions due to the skills needed to be able to do that, but when it comes to fighting rules and pure aggression he believes he can fight and it won’t be a problem. Who knows, there may even be athletes from totally different backgrounds looking to have their glory day in the ring.

And one thing’s for sure, as well as the fans of these fighters, one industry that’s particularly looking forward to such an event is the gambling industry. Last year, bookmakers saw a wagering handle between $60-70 million from the Mayweather/McGregor fight, with Nevada’s casino operators raking in $989.5 million – a record-breaking revenue.