Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor 2? Sounds absurd, but it's not impossible

(This story first published over at usatoday.com.)

There is only one event in the immediate future of boxing and MMA that could possibly be bigger than Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor.

That would be Mayweather vs. McGregor 2, a rematch at some point next year and an outcome that almost certainly hinges on the UFC lightweight champion somehow producing a boxing miracle en route to a shock for the ages.

So much of the madness surrounding the pay-per-view event, now less than two weeks away on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, has stretched the bounds of imagination, with the mere fact of its existence an extraordinary tale of modern promotional and social media forces. The idea that it could happen again is absurd, but no less so than the suggestion several months back that Mayweather could take on a man who has never boxed professionally or even to a serious level in the amateur ranks.

“I am one and done on this,” UFC president Dana White said, admitting that he might consider promoting boxing events at some point down the road but has little appetite for a repeat of seeing his most popular star step once more into the boxing ring.

Yet White also believes McGregor has a realistic shot to win at T-Mobile Arena, that his punching power can stun the 40-year-old former pound-for-pound king and stop Mayweather’s perfect professional streak at 49 wins. If that unthinkable outcome emerges, or if another bizarre turn that leads to a McGregor triumph takes place – if Mayweather twists his knee and can’t move, if he suffers a freak eye injury, or is disqualified for late blows – then a rematch would no longer be an outside chance at all.

At that stage it becomes virtually inevitable. With Mayweather slated to top $150 million and McGregor $100 million plus, a redo in such circumstances would likely generate even more hype and intrigue. Next time around both men could rake in $150 million or more, and guess what? If Mayweather won that to level the scores then a trilogy fight to decide it would make perfect sense, too.

No one much is buying into the theory, at least not publicly. Mayweather has consistently said it will be his last fight, and his advisor Leonard Ellerbe was at pains to stress this is a “one-time thing” last week.

But in the next breath Ellerbe, with a twinkle in his eye, said “you never know what might happen next” and indeed, for all the hoopla surrounding this promotion, never a truer word was spoken. We just don’t know.

Perhaps, probably, a rematch is the stuff of fairytales and conspiracy theorists. Yet once upon a time not so long ago, so too was this fight.

For more on “The Money Fight: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor,” check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.