This article was originally published on upgruv.com on July 20, 2017.

Ultimate fighters and boxers aren’t wrestlers. So what the hell were Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather doing last week?

What is known in wrestling as “best for business,” of course.

As Justin LaBar likes to say, “fake” is not a word anybody should associate with professional wrestling. It is similar to a soap opera, with characters and story specifically developed to get fans invested.

The “E” in WWE stands for entertainment. Professional wrestling’s biggest company has a long history of prioritizing things like superstars’ looks and creative storylines over pure wrestling talent or athletic ability.

Recently, WWE has highlighted its talents’ in-ring skill.

NXT is an indie lover’s dream. The cruiserweight division exists to emphasize athleticism traditionally lacking in WWE’s larger superstars. And the United Kingdom Championship Tournament and Mae Young Classic were created to showcase younger wrestlers without homes on “Monday Night Raw” and “Smackdown Live” television shows.

It was almost as if WWE was trying to move in the direction of fans who favored the realism of boxers and ultimate fighters.

So, again, what the hell were one of history’s most accomplished boxers and arguably the planet’s most marketable ultimate fighter doing last week? Looked from here as though they were moving in the direction of wrestling fans.

The upcoming bout between Mayweather and McGregor does not feel like a once-in-a-lifetime match. Instead, gimmicky news conferences that crossed the lines of decency left these athletes looking like actors following a script to promote their match.

Wrestling fans found the act all too familiar — right down to McGregor’s custom outfit.

Mayweather and McGregor should not need to borrow from WWE’s proven playbook to sell their match. The draw should be young, cocky McGregor (arguably MMA’s best pure striker) challenging a historically brash Mayweather (a generational, unbeaten boxing champion) in a rare crossover bout.

What McGregor is attempting to do Aug. 26 is absurd. An ultimate fighter is headed to Las Vegas to box a boxer. The Golden State Warriors might stand a better chance traveling to Pittsburgh and challenging the Penguins to a game of hockey.

Absurdity is the draw, but not the way McGregor and Mayweather are going about it.

And the way they are going, we might be a week away from learning that McGregor is Mayweather’s long lost out-of-wedlock son.

Photo by Attentie Attentie on Unsplash.