On Saturday, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor — the two biggest names in boxing and mixed martial arts, respectively — face off in the boxing ring at the T-Mobile Arena just outside of Las Vegas. The much anticipated bout is on pace to be the most financially successful combat sport event in history. In preparation of this historic event, here's a quick rundown of how these two fighters got to where we are now.
Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images
Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s rise to prominence began at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Mayweather took home the bronze medal for the featherweight division after losing controversially to Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria.
2 of 21
Conor McGregor makes his UFC debut
Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Despite not being active quite as long as Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been, Conor McGregor's rapid rise through the mixed martial arts ranks has been no less impressive. McGregor, who's Irish, began his professional career by fighting in the U.K.-based Cage Warriors Fighting Championship circuit before signing to Ultimate Championship Fighting in February 2013. He made his UFC debut on April 6, 2013, by facing off against Marcus Brimmage. McGregor quickly disposed of Brimmage, knocking him out in the first round and earning that title card's "Knockout of the Night."
3 of 21
Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year 1998
The Ring Magazine/Getty Image
Floyd Mayweather won his first professional boxing championship on Oct. 3, 1998, by defeating Genaro Hernandez by corner retirement in the eighth round. That same year, Ring Magazine picked Mayweather as "Fighter of the Year."
4 of 21
Conor McGregor wins his first UFC championship belt
Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
It didn't take long for the Irish striker to get his first shot at a UFC title. In 2015, it was announced that McGregor would fight Jose Aldo at UFC 189 (July 11, 2015) for the UFC Featherweight Championship. Leading up to the bout, however, Aldo suffered a rib injury and pulled out, forcing UFC head Dana White to replace him with Chad Mendes. Mendes was a formidable opponent and handily won the first round. McGregor bounced back and knocked Mendes down with three seconds remaining in the second round and unleashed a flurry of punches before the ref intervened. With this victory, "The Notorious" McGregor was named UFC's Interim Featherweight champ. What made McGregor's win all the more impressive is that he did it with a torn ACL.
5 of 21
Diego Corrales vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Jeff Gross/ALLSPORT via Getty Images
Arguably his most dominant fight, Mayweather defeated Diego Corrales on Jan. 20, 2001, by knocking him down five times over the course of the fight. Corrales's crew threw in the towel after the fifth knockdown, which came in the eighth. Mayweather is rumored to have wanted this particular fight because of Corrales's history of domestic violence, that he was doing it "for all the battered women across America." Mayweather, of course, would end up going to jail for the very same thing.
6 of 21
'The Ultimate Fighter' 22
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
McGregor followed his first championship by being a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter 22," the UFC's reality television show. McGregor coached the Europe team; Urijah Faber was put in charge of the U.S. team. The season ended with Ryan Hall of Team USA/Faber winning the competition.
7 of 21
Jose Luis Castillo vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (I and II)
Chris Polk/FilmMagic via Getty Images
On April 20, 2002, Mayweather moved up to lightweight and faced defending WBC champion Jose Luis Castillo. Mayweather won an unanimous decision despite claiming to have a torn left rotator cuff. Later that December, Mayweather and Castillo faced off again, with Mayweather winning by unanimous decision once again, this time around with a healthy shoulder.
8 of 21
Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor
Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Almost six months to the date of the first scheduled fight that wasn't (Dec. 12, 2015), Conor McGregor finally got his chance to fight Brazil's Jose Aldo at UFC 194. The UFC Featherweight unification fight lasted all of 13 seconds. Aldo stepped into a McGregor left hook and quickly fell to the ground. The fight was called immediately after. McGregor's victory was the fastest recorded knockout in UFC championship title fight history. UFC 194 was also the second most purchased PPV fight in UFC history.
9 of 21
Arturo Gatti vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Al Bello/Getty Images
On June 25, 2005, Mayweather claimed his third WBC championship title — this time in the super lightweight title — by soundly thrashing Arturo Gatti in six rounds
10 of 21
Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz I
Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The boisterous Irish fighter was slated to face off against UFC Lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos before a broken foot injury sidelined the latter. Denied his attempt at winning a second title belt, McGregor fought Nate Diaz instead at UFC 196, held on March 5, 2016. McGregor was the heavy favorite over Diaz, who had less than two weeks to prepare. Much to everyone's surprise, the underdog Diaz placed McGregor in a rear naked choke and forced McGregor to tap out late in the second round, handling the reigning featherweight champ his first UFC loss.
11 of 21
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
Beating (controversially and somewhat questionably) Oscar De La Hoya, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) boxers of his generation, on May 5, 2007, by split decision did a couple of things for Floyd Mayweather. The first is that it gave him his fifth WBC title in as many weight divisions (he'd already won the welterweight and dethroned De La Hoya as light middleweight champion). The second is that it strengthened his case for being one of the greatest pugilists of all time.
12 of 21
Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor II
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
On Aug. 20, 2016, McGregor avenged his loss by beating Diaz at UFC 202 by unanimous decision. The much anticipated fight was the highest-selling pay-per-view event in UFC history, drawing 1.65 million buys. Despite their contentious history, Diaz and McGregor ended their bout embracing each other as a sign of mutual respect.
13 of 21
Floyd Mayweather dances with the stars
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Floyd Mayweather was busy after his second retirement, appearing as a contestant on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." He and his dance partner, Karina Smirnoff, finished ninth.
14 of 21
Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Three months after beating Diaz, on Nov. 12, 2016, McGregor finally got his shot at being a UFC two-division champion, facing defending UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. McGregor dominated from the get-go and knocked out Alvarez with 3:04 on the clock of the second round. This was McGregor's last UFC fight before going on hiatus.
15 of 21
Floyd Mayweather retires for the first time
ABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
After beating De La Hoya, Mayweather moved back to welterweight and knocked out the British boxer Ricky Hatton to retain his WBC welterweight belt on Dec. 8, 2007. After his fight with Hatton, Mayweather announced that he was retiring from boxing, claiming he was the best ever in the sport's history.
16 of 21
Floyd Mayweather unretires for the first time
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Mayweather's retirement was short-lived. After a little over a year and a half, the flamboyant pugilist returned to the ring on Sept. 19, 2009, and faced off against Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather won by unanimous decision, improving his record to 40-0.
17 of 21
Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year 2007
Denise Truscello/WireImage via Getty Images
Ring Magazine named Floyd Mayweather Jr. the 2007 "Fighter of the Year," a much deserved recognition given that he beat De La Hoya and Hatton in that same year.
18 of 21
Floyd Mayweather goes to jail
David Becker/Getty Images
On Dec. 21, 2011, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was convicted of battery and sentenced to 90 days in jail for beating Josie Harris, his former girlfriend. This wasn't the first time Mayweather had been convicted of domestic violence and/or battery — he'd been previously convicted in 2002, 2004 and 2005 — but it was the first time he went to prison for it.
19 of 21
Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao
Al Bello/Getty Images
After more than half a decade — negotiations date back to 2009 — Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally fought each other on May 2, 2015. The fight, currently the most sold in pay-per-piew boxing history with an estimated 4.6 million buys, was somewhat disappointing since Pacquiao had lost more than step (and a handful of fights). Mayweather smoothly boxed his way into a unanimous decision.
20 of 21
Floyd Mayweather retires a second time
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
On Sept. 12, 2015, Mayweather notched his 49th victory after defeating Andre Berto by unanimous decision. He announced his retirement in the ring during the post-fight interview.
21 of 21
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor
Mike Lawrie/Getty Image
This all brings us to the now. On June 14, 2017, it was announced that Floyd Mayweather Jr. agreed to unretire for the second time to give McGregor the matchup he'd spent months asking for. The fight, scheduled for this Saturday, will bring two of combat sports' biggest and most dominant stars to the boxing ring. To say this bout is anticipated would be putting it lightly. Mayweather vs. McGregor is expected to be the most purchased pay per view combat sport event in history.