PH martial artists expect thrilling Pacquiao-McGregor bout

Manny Pacquiao (left) and Conor McGregor. FILE Photos from AFP

MANILA, Philippines—Money and excitement are common denominators between mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.

Any card involving these two is sure to draw the buys and the views.

For famed MMA coach Mark Sangiao, a fight between Pacquiao and McGregor is a good venture for both of them considering the the drawing power the two fighters have between them.

“It is a good strategy for Pacquiao because everybody is craving to watch him fight again,” said Sangiao, the Team Lakay patriarch. “On McGregor, he really knows how to sell his fight too. It’s going to be a blockbuster fight for sure.”

Pacquiao’s Fight of the Century against rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015 has the highest pay-per-view buy of any sport at 4.6 million buys.

The second-most lucrative sporting event on PPV is McGregor’s boxing debut against—who else—Money Mayweather in 2017, which had 4.3 million buys.

McGregor’s sporting charisma has catapulted an already established UFC brand into new heights with the Irishman’s ring return in January 2020 against Donald Cerrone earning 1,353,429 buys—more than a year after his last fight ended in a loss to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Pacquiao vs. McGregor is expected to happen in 2021 with both fighters already agreeing to face each other.

Former martial arts practitioner Monsour del Rosario, meanwhile, believes that McGregor is going to be a formidable opponent in the ring.

Alvin Aguilar, the founder of Universal Reality Combat Championships, said Pacquiao’s fight against McGregor is not only for the ring legend’s personal gain but for the beneficiaries of his charity work.

“It is, as everyone will still watch it and why is it any different when Mayweather did it?” said Aguilar, who is also the Wrestling Association of the Philippines president.