What many thought would be the 'Farce of the Century' turned out to be an enthralling contest. We said there would be no winners bar the two men lining their pockets, but we ended up with no losers instead.
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Mayweather finishes McGregor
Floyd Mayweather put an end to an entertaining fight with Conor McGregor in the tenth round to seal a 50-0 record.
Conor McGregor battled with Floyd Mayweather Jr. for nearly half an hour before running out of gas. He won several of the early rounds. He got plenty of good shots in and, most importantly, he didn't get knocked out.Â
Boxing's reputation is protected with Mayweather's win, but it's a huge victory for the UFC as well. The Irish jewel in the organisation's crown was not embarrassed, as many thought he would be, and he confirmed that he will return to the octagon in the future - even though now, more than ever, he does not need the money.
The public interest in UFC continues to rise, and their main attraction being thrust into a spotlight on a stratospheric level and giving a good account of himself can only be good in the long run for the sport, which has lost major drawcards like Ronda Rousey and Jon Jones, potentially for good. Â
This fight confirmed McGregor's boxing skills are far more impressive than many of us realised - especially in the early stages, when he came at Mayweather with a level of aggression we rarely see, born out of a complete disregard for the resume of his opponent.
![On target: McGregor landed some clean shots early in the contest.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170828210638im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/5/3/1/s/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gy53x3.png/1503907941427.jpg)
The Irishman could not maintain that pace for a 36-minute fight, as most people expected, but to take it as far as he did was extremely impressive.Â
With Mayweather announcing his retirement, McGregor is indisputably the world's biggest individual combat sports star - his return to the octagon will probably be the most anticipated fight in the UFC's history - and this fight has just served to promote his compelling profile to a bigger audience.
![Floyd Mayweather hits out at Conor McGregor.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170828210638im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/5/4/j/8/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gy53x3.png/1503824592021.jpg)
He could swim against Michael Phelps or run against Usain Bolt and the masses would tune in. He'd probably back himself to win those contests as well.Â