The Two Biggest UFC Stars to Try Their Hand at Boxing

The rise of the UFC in recent times has been somewhat unexpected, Nowadays, the Octagon gets more pay-per-view buys than its boxing counterpart regularly, something that was somewhat unthinkable just over a decade ago. However, despite that, sweet science still brings in the most dollars.

For example, former UFC heavyweight champion Francs Ngannou was paid a whopping $30m for his two forays into the boxing ring. For his first clash against Tyson Fury, he bagged himself a cool $10m and very nearly upset the then-WBC Heavyweight Champion, eventually slipping to a split decision defeat. He then bagged a further $20m when he faced off against Anthony Joshua however, this time, he had far less success, suffering a devastating second-round knockout.

However, compare those purses to when he was the UFC's resident kingpin, and the differences are quite shocking. The Predator was paid just $600,000 for his most recent fight inside the Octagon. That of course was a victorious one, successfully defending his world title against Frenchman Cyril Gane with a unanimous decision victory.

With such a difference in purses, it should come as no surprise that MMA stars head over to the boxing ring to pick up a huge pay packet and attempt to make history. Here are the two biggest fighters that have made the crossover.

Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva is often hailed as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. He is the longest reigning middleweight champion of all time and has beaten a who’s who of superstars inside the Octagon. He reigned over the 185-pound division between 2005 and 2012, defeating the likes of compatriot Vitor Belfort and hard-hitting American Dan Henderson, before ultimately dropping the title to Chris Weidman in July 2013 in a shocking upset.

Following that defeat, the Spider never returned to his best. He lost to Weidman again before losing five of his final six bouts in the UFC. At the ripe old age of 45, he made the move to boxing to face off against former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., with the Mexican still in his physical prime. Shockingly, however, Silva walked away with a deserved split decision victory in June 2021.

Chavez Jr. will fight once more this summer against another former UFC star Darren Till. The latest boxing betting odds make him a narrow -210 favorite for glory, with his English opponent priced at +160. Silva has had two fights since he clashed with Mexico’s former PPV star, defeating former UFC heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and losing to influencer turned-boxer Jake Paul.

The Spider will also fight inside the boxing ring later this year against a familiar foe, Chael Sonnen. The two clashed over Slva's middleweight championship twice in the past, with the Brazilian reigning victorious on both occasions. Will The American Gangster get his revenge later this summer?

Conor McGregor

Between 2015 and 2017, Conor McGregor was perhaps the most well-known fighter on the planet. He shot to superstardom with his verbal tirade on then-pound-for-pound king Jose Aldo. His mental warfare made global headlines before the Irishman knocked out the longtime featherweight champion in just 13 seconds at UFC 194 in December 2015. Back-to-back clashes with Nate Diaz only saw his star grow, even though he lost the pair's first clash. By the time he knocked out Eddie Alvarez to become the UFC's first-ever double champion, he was one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet.

Following that knockout of "The Underground King," the Notorious One set his sights on boxing and specifically, the greatest boxer that's ever lived... Floyd Mayweather. The clash was confirmed on June 14th 2016, with the pair facing off just over two months later. McGregor was a huge underdog for the clash, unsurprisingly so considering the size of the mammoth task ahead of him, with ESPN's boxing analyst Max Kellerman claiming that the UFC star wouldn't land a single punch on Money.

Despite never having fought a professional boxing match before, McGregor managed to hold his own for ten rounds against one of the greatest boxers of all time. Although he eventually succumbed to a late TKO, his performance garnered widespread respect and significantly boosted his already astronomical profile. The fight became the second most bought fight of all time, selling a whopping 4.3m buys in the United States, just 300,000 behind Mayweather’s clash with Manny Pacquaio two years prior.

Unfortunately for McGregor however, the fight was the beginning of the end. He made upwards of $100m for his part in proceedings, which many say has significantly hindered his career inside the Octagon. He hasn't beaten a ranked fighter since his trip into the squared circle and has been stopped three times, once by Khabib Nurmagomedov and twice by Dustin Poirier. This month, he will make his return after three years away when he faces off against Michael Chandler at UFC 303.