It was an interesting day for the combat sports world yesterday (Tues. July 11, 2017).

The highly-anticipated boxing fight between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. is set to go down next month, and the pair kicked the hype train off with their first of four press conferences on their World Tour to promote the groundbreaking event.

McGregor started things off by making fun of Mayweather's attire as well as his financial woes. The Irishman also claimed that he will knockout the undefeated legend inside five rounds. Mayweather got on the mic and fired back, calling McGregor a 'b*tch' and claiming to be the A-side.

"Money's" behavior was a bit of a surprise to some fans, but nobody was more surprised than Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza. Espinoza claimed that Mayweather's actions were 'out of character' as he spoke to MMA Fighting (quotes via LowKickMMA):

“Floyd, as he’s gotten older, he’s definitely mellowed,” Espinoza told MMAFighting.com. “If you look back at De La Hoya-Mayweather, Floyd did a lot of talking, a lot of needling Oscar throughout that press tour.

"Floyd is in a different place now. I don’t know exactly what to make of it. It is a little bit out of character. I think if I had to guess, it’s little bit of competitiveness and pride. Conor came out and had a standup comedy routine.

"The crowd ate it up. I think the entertainer in Floyd said I can’t come up here and give a bunch of cliches. He dished it out just like he took it.”

As far as the pro-McGregor crowd in Las Angeles, Espinoza found it surprising that everyone was so behind the Irishman given that "Money" spends a lot of his time in the area and owns property there as well:

“I was surprised,” Espinoza said. “Floyd has a couple of places here. He spends a good amount of time in LA. He’s an LA-Vegas guy.

"But I think what you saw was the passion of the McGregor fans. He’s really connected with them, on social media and in person. He’s such a big personality that people really, really get attached to him.”

McGregor and Mayweather will go one-on-one in the boing ring on Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 26th.

What are your thoughts on Mayweather's behavior at the press conference yesterday? Let us know in the comments section below!