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Fight Fallout: Many Surprised By Competitive Nature; McGregor Could See Star Power Grow

Saturday night's Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight was as "close to an 'everybody wins' outcome as anyone could have hoped," as it "ended up being the one thing most people didn't expect: a pretty decent boxing match," according to Chuck Mindenhall of THE RINGER. Neither Mayweather nor McGregor "shrank in the moment," and the fight "wasn't the scam many feared" (THERINGER.com, 8/27). In DC, Rick Maese wrote the "biggest surprise" coming out of Saturday night was that it "wasn't the snoozefest many feared." It was a "resounding loss for McGregor," but "not one that he'll likely be embarrassed by." Mayweather and McGregor "promised to put on a show," and to the "surprise of many, they delivered" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/27). In Las Vegas, Case Keefer wrote people who predicted Mayweather-McGregor would be an "embarrassment or disgrace to boxing ... might want to hide out for a while." It was "nothing of the sort." It went down as one of Mayweather's "more entertaining fights" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 8/27). SI.com's Ben Baskin wrote the fight "actually delivered" after all the hype (SI.com, 8/27). In Hartford, Jeff Jacobs wrote the "most amazing thing about late Saturday" was that a "real boxing bout broke out." When it was over, there "weren't any real losers" (HARTFORD COURANT, 8/28). In N.Y., Howie Kussoy wrote what was "long treated as a farce become legitimately fun, and intriguing, as McGregor controlled the first three rounds" (NYPOST.com, 8/27).  ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto wrote if fans "bought in for the spectacle," they got "more than" they bargained for (ESPN.com, 8/27). In Phoenix, Greg Moore wrote it was a "better-than-expected fight" (AZCENTRAL.com, 8/27). ESPN's Jeremy Schaap said, "The fight wasn't a fiasco. It was a mismatch and lopsided, but not as bad as it could have been" ("E:60," ESPN, 8/27).

RESPECT EARNED
: In N.Y., John Eligon noted many experts "offered dire predictions" that McGregor would be "knocked out within a few rounds." In that light, the fight can be "considered somewhat surprising," and McGregor can "claim a moral victory" (NYTIMES.com, 8/27). The AP's Tim Dahlberg wrote McGregor "turned in a respectable performance for someone in his first fight." Mayweather said, "He's a lot better than I thought he'd be" (AP, 8/27). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote McGregor earned "respect for lasting as long as he did." The fight was "anything but the sham many said it would be" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/27). In Las Vegas, Adam Hill wrote under the header, "Conor McGregor Exceeds Expectations Before Tiring Against Mayweather" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 8/27). CBSSPORTS.com ' Bill Reiter wrote Mayweather won the fight but McGregor "won the night" (CBSSPORTS.com, 8/27). In Sydney, Matt Bungard wrote Mayweather-McGregor turned out to be an "enthralling contest ... with no losers." Boxing's reputation is "protected with Mayweather's win, but it's a huge victory for UFC as well." McGregor was "not embarrassed," and he "confirmed that he will return to the octagon in the future" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/27). 

McGregor will likely earn more than $100M for Saturday's fight
WINNING BY LOSING: The AP's Dahlberg wrote McGregor "won millions of new fans" despite losing the match and will now "likely return to the UFC as its unquestioned star" (AP, 8/27). In L.A., Lance Pugmire wrote McGregor stands as Mayweather's successor as the "king of combat sports." The memory of his "valiant showing in light of making his pro debut" against Mayweather "will be powerful." McGregor "found a way to entertain even though he was outmatched." A WME-IMG official said that the company hopes McGregor will "return to fight for the UFC again this calendar year, with the close of a Nate Diaz trilogy among the possibilities." McGregor will "likely earn more" than $100M for Saturday's fight, and his UFC purses "should continue to climb thanks to this surge of mainstream exposure" (LATIMES.com, 8/27). However, in N.Y., George Willis writes McGregor "may have outgrown the traditional UFC template" and Saturday night's fight may "only serve to motivate McGregor to seek his independence and expand McGregor Sports and Entertainment, his newly created promotional company." The Mayweather fight "proved that McGregor carries with him a large international fan base that will pay to see him in the Octagon or a boxing ring" (N.Y. POST, 8/28). ESPN's Brett Okamoto said McGregor is "dabbling in other areas intelligently to bring in more money." Okamoto: "I don't think that he's looking around for opportunities to act necessarily as much as (Ronda) Rousey did" (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 8/28). 

CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE: REUTERS' Steve Keating wrote Mayweather-McGregor "certainly will not be included on any list of the great bouts of boxing," as the fight "proved to be the one-sided contest many had predicted." McGregor's "lack of ring savvy quickly exposed him as Mayweather clinically dissected" him (REUTERS, 8/27). In L.A., Bill Plaschke wrote the fight was "briefly interesting," but in the end was "just a boxer knocking the snot out of a guy who doesn't box." McGregor was "feisty enough to probably warrant another appearance in another similar sideshow" (L.A. TIMES, 8/27). Also in L.A., Dylan Hernandez wrote Mayweather entered the ring "wearing a ski mask, which served as a perfect warning." Hernandez: "He was about to commit one last robbery." What came as a surprise was the "magnitude of the theft." The fight turned out to be "something worse, a glorified sparring session involving an old man and a neophyte." It was a "low-level fight that belonged on a minor card" if not for the "name recognition of the fighters" (LATIMES.com, 8/27). In Tampa, Tom Jones writes if MMA fans "want to prove that an MMA guy can stand in a boxing ring with a boxing champ and hold his own, they're going to need another fight between two other fighters." Jones: "This was a thorough beatdown" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/28).

MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO 'ROUND: In N.Y., Dan Barry writes under the header, "Fleece Of The Century." In the end, all the "hype, all the blather, all the posturing, all the media, was about only one achingly obvious thing: money." When the fight was over, Mayweather and McGregor "hugged and laughed, a pair of business partners who had just pulled off the score of the century" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/28). In Orlando, George Diaz writes everyone who put down their PPV dollars was "chasing fool's gold." Diaz: "This sucker-punch is for you" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 8/28). YAHOO SPORTS' Kevin Iole wrote while the fight was "entertaining and hardly the farce many called it, the truth is, this was made for one reason: money" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/27). ESPN.com's Dan Rafael noted Mayweather made a guaranteed $100M, but "likely will make well in excess" of $200M. McGregor was guaranteed $30M for the fight and "likely will earn" more than $100M (ESPN.com, 8/27). Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said that the PPVs were "trending well, and when all things are said and done Mayweather could end up" with nearly $300M. McGregor said of his purse, "The check's not bad. I've already been raising the MMA checks and I'm certainly going to raise the MMA checks when I get back there" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 8/27).

BIGGER THAN THE SUPER BOWL?
ESPN's Sal Paolantonio noted he has covered 25 Super Bowls, but Mayweather-McGregor was "bigger without a doubt" any of those games due in large part to the way the "energy grew organically through the fans through the week." He said, "Roger Goodell and the NFL could learn something from boxing and how this was handled, allowing the fighters to move through the crowd and let the fans grow the excitement from the ground up instead of opposing it from the top down. This, to me, was thrilling and exciting because of the way the fans grew this event from the beginning" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 8/27).

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