Mayweather-McGregor Crowd Under Capacity; Fight Beats Expectations

Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Conor McGregor at T-Mobile Arena last night in front of a crowd of 14,623, "about 6,000 shy" of capacity. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said, "You're not going to always get it right. It's all about delivery. The fans who were here enjoyed themselves" (L.A. TIMES, 8/27). It was a "pro-McGregor crowd that roared every time the UFC fighter landed a punch" (AP, 8/27). The crowd "serenaded McGregor with 'Ole,’ and chanted 'Conor’ and roared with every McGregor connection" (L.A. TIMES, 8/27). The atmosphere was "more rock concert than sporting event" (SI.com, 8/27).

The night’s "biggest surprise" was that the fight "wasn’t the snoozefest many feared." Mayweather and McGregor "promised to put on a show," and to the "surprise of many, they delivered" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/27). What was "long treated as a farce became legitimately fun, and intriguing" (NYPOST.com, 8/27). It was a "better-than-expected fight" (AZCENTRAL.com, 8/27). If fans "bought in for the spectacle," they got "more than" they bargained for (ESPN.com, 8/27).

Fight broadcaster Showtime "assembled a stable of celebs that rivaled the entourage" that was in Las Vegas for the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight in '15. Among the celebrities in attendance: Robert Kraft, LeBron James, James Harden, Draymond Green, Paul George, Bruce Willis, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, Matt Damon, Jamie Foxx, Mark Wahlberg, Jeremy Piven and Ben Stiller (USATODAY.com, 8/27). Also making an "appearance on the red carpet" was the Sasquatch mascot of Jack Link’s, directly after William H. Macy, Jay Pharoah, Cheadle and Willis (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/27).