Dubai The much-anticipated UFC 229 showdown between former two-division champion Connor McGregor and current title-holder Khabin Nurmagomedov has the potential to shatter all records in the sport.
The purse, which promises to be the biggest in UFC history, has yet to be finalised but indications are that it will exceed all expectations.
As a precursor to the magnitude of the event, which is slated for October 7 a the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, eager fans snapped up all 20,000 tickets that came on sale earlier this week, in a matter of just three minutes.
If that is not an indication to the statue of the fight, and its worldwide appeal, then nothing else will.
But whichever way you look at it, McGregor, 29, remains the biggest draw in the octagon, despite the fact that he has not fought in the UFC since he defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 back in November 2016.
The Irish destroyer captured the lightweight titles with a storming second-round TKO of Alvarez.
He, however, was subsequently stripped of that belt when he did not defend the title, choosing instead to cross over to the boxing ring to fight Floyd Mayweather in a multi-million dollar fight, which he lost.
Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov snapped up the vacant belt at UFC 223 with a decision win over Al Iaquinta.
The Russian, who has not tasted defeat in 26 professional bouts, has said that he wants McGregor to pay for his actions during the UFC 223 media day, where he and his team attacked a bus carrying Russian and some other fighters.
“Listen, there’s nothing better than Khabib wants to do than Connor wants than get Connor locked in the cage and beat his (expletive) for five rounds and talk to him when he’s doing it, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz said.
The T-Mobile Arena has a capacity of 20,000 people and ticket prices to watch McGregor take on Nurmagomedov ranged from €180 to €2,212.
It is set to be the most lucrative contest in mixed martial arts events.
Meanwhile, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who has been away since February 2017, is hoping to return to the Octagon in 2019.
