Mayweather vs. McGregor: Result, Highlights and Post-Fight Controversies

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

Far exceeding the expectations of many fans, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor delivered an entertaining spectacle Saturday night in Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.

Mayweather steadily wore down McGregor from the halfway point of the fight. Sensing his opening, Mayweather went on the offensive in the 10th round, and after McGregor absorbed multiple blows without firing back, the referee called for the bell.

Considering McGregor had never boxed professionally before, he made a strong account for himself in the ring. CBSSports.com's Brian Campbell put his 111 landed punches into perspective:

The definitive nature of the result left little in the way of controversy. Even before the referee stoppage, Mayweather was clearly ahead despite McGregor's strong start in the early rounds. According to MMAjunkie, the three judges had scored the fight 87-83, 89-82, 89-81 in favor of Mayweather through nine rounds.

Mayweather was similarly dominant over Manny Pacquiao in his unanimous decision victory in May 2015, but in that case, Pacquiao fans could point to Pac-Man's shoulder injury as justification for a potential rematch. By their line of thinking, Pacquiao would have had a better chance had he been 100 percent at the time of the fight.

There were no such considerations for McGregor. He left everything in the ring and simply couldn't match up with Mayweather.

In his post-fight interview with Showtime Sports' Jim Gray, McGregor did indicate he would have liked to have seen the referee let the fight go on a little longer, but he didn't offer much of an argument with the final decision (Warning: video contains NSFW language):

Less so a point of controversy and more a topic of discussion is whether McGregor should make a permanent transition to boxing and away from mixed martial arts.

ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reported McGregor is set to make at least $30 million for Saturday's bout with Mayweather—a figure that could climb into the nine figures. In comparison, he earned $27 million from his UFC 202 and 205 fights in 2016.

"McGregor definitely has a future in boxing, if he chooses to," Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said, per MMA Fighting. "To be able to last as long as he did. He's very tough. Big heart."

Unsurprisingly, UFC President Dana White was less enthusiastic about McGregor stepping in the ring again.

White told reporters he "would rather [McGregor] did not" pursue a boxing career and that "I don't think there's anything left to prove," per ESPN.com's Arash Markazi.

White and UFC certainly have a vested interest in McGregor getting back inside the Octagon. According to Tapology, four of UFC's five biggest pay-per-view buy rates came in shows where McGregor was in the main event.

And with Jon Jones' positive drug test—which would carry a lengthy suspension unless he's cleared—the company is starved for bankable stars. Losing McGregor, Jones and Ronda Rousey, who appears to be done with MMA, in the space of a year would be devastating for UFC's bottom line.