Mayweather vs. McGregor Highlights: Recap, Results, Analysis of Complete Fight

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

They don't call Floyd Mayweather Jr. the Money man for nothing. The boxing superstar scored a 10th-round stoppage victory over Conor McGregor in the combat sports event of the year Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

The fight, which was expected to hit 5 million buys, per FiveThirtyEight, lived up to the hype as Mayweather picked up win No. 50 in his career. Bleacher Report noted the achievement:

The opening round played out in the way that many of Mayweather's first rounds do. That is to say he waited patiently while his opponent went to work. McGregor was the aggressor early on and attacked with volume, as he promised. ShoStats provided the numbers for the round:

That trend carried through the first three rounds as McGregor continued to leverage his size, length and jab to set the pace. If anyone was wondering whether Notorious could prove that he belonged in a ring, they got a pretty quick answer as the narrative shifted from circus to close fight early. 

Darren Rovell noted the fast start for McGregor:

Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting had Notorious up 3-0 on his scorecard:

Mayweather started coming out of his shell in the fourth frame, though. After getting his reads on McGregor's movement and attack, he began working his way to the inside. Andreas Hale of Yahoo noted the shift in Money's strategy as the fight moved to the middle rounds:

The fight wasn't without its bizarre moments. For one, McGregor continually threw hammerfists—a move that isn't legal in boxing. And Mayweather completely turned his back to McGregor at one point. 

However, the bizarre shouldn't overshadow the legitimate action. As the fight hit the halfway point, both fighters engaged in exchanges that made the fight well worth the price of admission. 

Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times had the fight all even through six rounds:

Round 7 was the first round that could be clearly labeled a dominant round for Mayweather. As ESPN Stats & Info noted, this was far longer already than the majority of McGregor's MMA bouts:

That fatigue started to enter dangerous territory for McGregor in the ninth. Notorious opened the round with a punishing left hand that was ruled a low blow, but after that punch, it was all Money. 

Mayweather hunted for the finish throughout the ninth round as a gassed McGregor clinched and stumbled his way through the round. 

Though McGregor survived the ninth round, it just served as a harbinger of things to come. Mayweather allowed the Irishman to punch himself out in the first portion of the round before turning up the heat. Money landed a lead right hand that stumbled McGregor against the ropes. 

While the fight was stopped sooner than it would have been in an MMA fight, it was clear that Mayweather was headed toward the finish. 

It was a bout that didn't disappoint for anyone who was hoping to see a great fight. Although the result was the same as Mayweather's first 49 fights, McGregor certainly didn't embarrass himself. Bill Simmons of The Ringer gave the MMA star credit for going 10 rounds with the best boxer of this generation:

Mayweather echoed those sentiments as he acknowledged that his opponent was better than he thought:

All in all, the fight was a win-win for nearly everyone involved. For fans, it was an entertaining bout. It wasn't the traditional Mayweather fight as he fulfilled the pre-fight hype that he would come forward and try to end the fight. 

He also called it a career, confirming that he's going to retire at 50-0:

For McGregor, this is something he'll be able to build on. He has come back from losses in MMA to be a marketable star. Coming back from a 10-round loss to the best in boxing isn't going to change that, and he made more cash than he ever would have made without crossing over. 

What was criticized as a spectacle more than a fight proved doubters wrong. Mayweather came away with the win, McGregor left with his pride and the fans were entertained. That's what a superfight should be.