The joke everyone made about a problem Conor McGregor may encounter fighting Floyd Mayweather came true. The UFC lightweight champion appeared to suffer from a momentary lapse where he forgot what sport he was competing in during his boxing debut Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Instead of being comical or disastrous, however, it wound up as brilliant. Early in the fifth round, McGregor clubbed Mayweather with a hammer fist, a mixed martial arts strike, before hitting him with one of many, also illegal punches to the back of the head.
As referee Robert Byrd separated the fighters and warned McGregor, Mayweather shook his head and scowled.