More than 5 million people are expected to buy the Mayweather-McGregor pay-per-view

The much-anticipated, cross-sport, super-fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather is now upon us as the pair will go toe-to-toe on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

The biggest reason this fight always felt like foregone conclusion, of course, is just how much money it is expected to generate. While diehard boxing fans may not be interested in the fight, the UFC fans will want to see if their guy can beat a great boxer on his own turf and gain more acceptance for their sport, and casual sports fans will want to watch just to see the circus, both inside the ring and out.

Exactly how many people will buy a pay-per-view in combat sports is typically a big mystery, but some estimates expect more than five million people to purchase the McGregor-Mayweather fight. That would surpass Mayweather’s fight against Manny Pacquiao and would be more than twice as much as any other boxing match in history.

That was just too much money to leave on the table.

Diana Yukari/Business Insider