Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor fails to sell out with more than 5,000 seats empty at Las Vegas arena

A total of 14,623 people watched on from Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena as Mayweather extended his flawless professional career to 50 fights unbeaten by stopping McGregor in the 10th round

Samuel Lovett
Sunday 27 August 2017 03:43 EDT
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Despite thousands flocking to Las Vegas for the fight, high prices meant that organisers were unable to sell out the 20,000-seat aren
Despite thousands flocking to Las Vegas for the fight, high prices meant that organisers were unable to sell out the 20,000-seat aren (Getty)

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The super-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor failed to sell out, according to official figures, with the final attendance falling short by more than 5,000 tickets.

A total of 14,623 people watched on from Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena as Mayweather extended his flawless professional career to 50 fights unbeaten by stopping McGregor in the 10th round.

The bout is expected to cement its place into history as the most lucrative fight ever, surpassing the reported £480m generated by Mayweather’s win over Manny Pacquiao in 2015.

But despite thousands flocking to Las Vegas for the fight, high prices meant that organisers were unable to sell out the 20,000-seat arena.

The general manager of T-Mobile Arena, Dan Quinn, admitted prior to Saturday night that he was unsure as to why the fight was failing to sell out.

“Every event is its own machine in terms of marketing and demand,” Quinn said.

“There’s just so many factors that go into it. Us in the arena world, we’re always amazed that when we book any event on the ones that are home runs right off the bat and the ones that we think are going do great, we don’t quite get there.

"There’s just so many variables in place. It’s tough to isolate any one if you have an event that doesn’t sell through all the tickets.”

UFC chief Dana White outlined ahead of Saturday’s fight that the gate was at £54.5m, which is just shy of the combat sports record of £55.7m set by Mayweather vs Pacquiao.

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