“Is this really happening?” is just one of the many quotes or questions that may be asked when witnessing one of those obviously special sports moments.
One of the more fun parts about being in the combat sports world is that there are separate sports that are similar enough for athletes to try their hands in the other aspects and varieties that exist outside of the one that they’re accustomed to.
We’ve seen it before where top MMA fighters have gone over to other combat sports. Generally, it’s in or from boxing or kickboxing that mixed martial artists find themselves testing out and one of the most successful or notable cases earlier on may have been with Alistair Overeem. One of the lesser successful being James Toney’s attempt in MMA in 2010.
That same year, the Dutchman Overeem would win one of the most prestigious striking tournaments in combat sports, the K-1 World Grand Prix.
As amazing and big of an accomplishment as this was, it still lacked a certain magnitude of that “once in a lifetime” type of spectacle. And in hindsight, whether we want to admit or not, the cross-sport boxing match between all-time great boxer Floyd Mayweather and the then UFC lightweight champion and former featherweight champion Conor McGregor was exactly that.
Continued: Tenshin vs Horiguchi was Japan's Mayweather vs McGregor and it was absolutely awesome