Mayweather v. McGregor fell short at the gate (Steve Marcus/Reuters)

A main factor behind the spectacle that was Mayweather v. McGregor was the talent involved. Something that motivated Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor, Dana White, Showtime, etc, in getting this fight to happen was money. Both fighters got paid a hefty sum for the entertaining fight. It was also reported that the fight broke PPV records. Something that hasn’t been brought up until recently however was how the event did inside the T-Mobile Arena.

It looks like there will be one aspect of Mayweather v. McGregor that will be disappointing, at least to the guys calling the shots. Jed I. Goodman was the first to report on Twitter that the match on August 26th made $55,414,865.79 in ticket sales. To a novice, that might seem like a lot, until you look deeper into the numbers. 13,094 tickets were sold along with with 137 complimentary tickets. To break it down further, the T-Mobile Arena can hold roughly 20,000 people for UFC and boxing events, while the actual fight was expected to sit over 17,000 people.

These numbers are far below profits received from the Floyd Mayweather v. Manny Pacquiao fight in 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That fight made $72,198,500 on a total of 16,219 tickets.

It is fair to point out that the money made is not bad at all. However, many expected better, especially Dana White, who predicted over $70 million would be made at the gate. What could be the reason behind these numbers? It may have been the price of the event, with tickets reaching above $1,000. While celebrities and “high-end” citizens were able to attend, hardcore boxing fans may have had an issue attending something they were waiting on for quite some time.

On the other hand, maybe it was the spectacle that was being presented. While enticing, a retired boxer v. an MMA fighter may turn some people off. The highly-anticipated Alvarez v. GGG match on September 16th is sold out and could make a huge profit. Two full-time fighters going at it seems to draw more people in, even if Mayweather v. McGregor got more people interested in boxing.

At the end of the day, does this really mean anything? Of course not. All in all, Mayweather v. McGregor was a massive success that will stand the test of time. It’s up to the MMA and boxing community to work past this minuscule setback. With big events coming up on both sides, they will have plenty to work with.