A much anticipated boxing superfight between retired pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather and UFC champion Conor McGregor appears to be close to fruition after all.
While the deal for the welterweight bout has not yet been finalized, a source with knowledge of the plan told ESPN on Monday that a date and possible site has been identified: Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, likely at the T-Mobile Arena.
Mayweather Promotions is expected to request the date from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The news comes after rumors began to swirl Monday when a Mayweather Promotions boxing hold was found on the NSAC's website for Aug. 26 at the MGM Grand, a sister property of T-Mobile Arena that is owned by MGM Resorts International.
In addition, the 28-year-old McGregor did his best to sound the alarm that the fight was near with this post on Instagram.
While McGregor (21-3) has already agreed to his split of the deal with UFC officials, talks are ongoing between UFC owner WME-IMG and Mayweather adviser Al Haymon. Stephen Espinoza, the executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports, which is expected to televise the pay-per-view, told ESPN the details will remain private.
"There are negotiations ongoing, but none of us wants to turn this into the circus that the Mayweather-[Manny] Pacquiao negotiations were, so I think it's best if we keep all the business discussions private until the deal is done," he said.
Multiple sources also told ESPN that Golden Boy Promotions' decision to stage the Sept. 16 middleweight championship PPV between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (spurning offers from multiple sites and cities) was to avoid the possibility of direct competition from Mayweather-McGregor on the same night.
Golden Boy's agreement with MGM Resorts International, which will now seemingly host both fights, reportedly included a stipulation that would prevent Mayweather-McGregor from infringing on the Alvarez-Golovkin promotional window. The Aug. 26 date is three weeks before Alvarez-Golovkin and -- more important -- in a separate calendar month, which avoids two PPV charges on the same cable bill for consumers.
The 40-year-old Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs), who retired shortly after a shutout victory against Andre Berto in September 2015, has repeatedly said he would return only to face McGregor in a fight that's expected to challenge many of Mayweather's financial and PPV records. He must first apply for his Nevada boxing license, which must be renewed annually.
McGregor, who last fought for the UFC in November before taking a six-month break for the birth of his first child, recently applied for a boxing license in Nevada, though his application has not yet been completed.
