Sports

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

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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.

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Diana Yukari/Business Insider

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Cork was a correspondent for Insider's sports desk.Previously, he was a contributor at MLB Trade Rumors, and he has written for Yahoo Sports, Deadspin, and The Hardball Times. He has authored chapters in three books, including "The Hardball Times 2009 Season Preview." Cork's work has been featured on ESPN's "SportsCenter" and "Mike & Mike," "Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons," ESPN.com, BBC, Yahoo, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Drudge Report, the Washington Post, the Kansas City Star, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News, among others.He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and holds a doctorate from Fordham University.Here is a selection of his work:Under Armour hit the jackpot on its Jordan Spieth betGary Woodland once took his pants off to hit a shot and learned a funny lesson about product endorsementWe tried the alcohol diet Tom Brady put Rob Gronkowski on, and it was a lot harder than we imaginedThe University of Texas spent $7 million remodeling their football locker room and the results are jaw-droppingStephen Curry has replaced LeBron James as the best basketball player in the worldEx-NBA player who made $60 million explains what really happens to your money when you sign an 8-figure contractHere's Michael Jordan's 56,000-square-foot house in Chicago, and why it's still on the market after 6 yearsMayweather beat McGregor with a TKO in the 10th round! Here are the big moments everybody will be talking aboutPerfect conditions at Cowboys-Patriots game helped create incredible picturesWe've been using Alexa in a car for 6 months and it's the best infotainment system we've ever used.