It would be one the most ridiculous events in the history of combat sports, but it’d also be an event worth witnessing.

For most of 2016 and now 2017, a possible fight between retired-boxer Floyd Mayweather and UFC megastar Conor McGregor has been brought up through conversation. But during that same time period, that’s all it has been: a conversation.

Talks have picked up tremendous steam, with Mayweather and UFC President Dana White both offering financial figures if a bout were to take place. On Fox Sports 1’s “The Herd,” White said that he’d offer both McGregor and Mayweather $25 million guaranteed, plus a split of pay-per-view money.

Just a few days before White’s comments, Mayweather said on ESPN’s “First Take” he’d offer the Irishman $15 million and a “percentage on pay-per-view.” No matter what, there’ll be huge money to be made if a deal is signed.

Which is part of the reason McGregor should convince White to push for this fight to happen. White is his promoter after all, and McGregor has absolutely nothing to lose fighting Mayweather, because he’ll make the biggest payday of his fighting career and will only elevate his status as combat sports’ biggest draw.

Depending on where this fight will take place, which in all likelihood will be in a boxing ring after McGregor was granted a boxing license in the state of California, he’ll be a huge underdog. But if the tables were turned and this was an MMA fight, then McGregor would be a profound favorite. Whether it’s in an MMA cage or boxing ring, even the most passionate fans of both sports would be intrigued to witness such a spectacle.

Who amongst us wouldn’t want to watch this? On paper it sounds absolutely ludicrous, but yet, it’s one of the all-time great boxers against MMA’s biggest star. It’s 49-0 against the only double-champion in UFC history. Whether it turns into a freak show or a classic, the world will stop and realize that a rarity in combat sports has occurred.

Besides, what else is there to look forward to for both sports the rest of the year? Boxing has long lost it’s connection with its fans, mostly down to politics and the lack of big stars. We’re still waiting for Canelo Alvarez to fight Gennady Golovkin.

As for mixed martial arts, and more specifically, the UFC, they’ll still have big-time fights that’ll draw huge crowds no matter where they go. However, there’s no bigger star the UFC fans want to watch more than McGregor. You might say, well what about Ronda Rousey? Well, she just got obliterated by Amanda Nunes in less than a minute, and she may never fight again, so there’s that.

Mayweather has nothing to gain from this possible fight. At 49-0, common sense would tell him to go for the elusive 50-0 rather than fight someone who’s not nearly on his level in terms of pure boxing skill. Mayweather has fought a who’s who of fighters over his career; his pride is the only thing that stands between him and McGregor.

But then again, this is Mayweather we’re talking about. The business man who’s all about his money, and taking this fight should be viewed as an easy payday against McGregor. If you think this sort of thing hasn’t happened before, think again.

On August 28, 2010, a great heavyweight boxer, James “Lights Out” Toney, stepped into the octagon to take on UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture at UFC 118 in Boston. It’d mark the first time a professional boxer stepped foot inside a mixed martial arts cage. The end result was exactly what you thought it would be. Three minutes, 19 seconds and Toney was choked out in the first round. Fair to say luck isn’t on Mayweather’s side if he followed in Toney’s steps.

The question now after all the trash talk and hoopla is this: why not? If reputation and pride mattered so much to either one, this wouldn’t be talked about any longer. The conversation would just be a big joke and a thought fans would only dream about.

But instead, there’s a bunch of fuel added to this fire, a fire that may be too hot to extinguish. Because of fans who want this, the money that’s there to be made, and the title of being one of the greatest draws in the history of combat sports.