Saturday’s UFC 257 main event should be massive for sports betting in the Conor McGregor rematch with Dustin Poirier continuing to draw significant interest at sportsbooks. 

As a consensus -315 favorite over Poirier, McGregor is attracting most of the action. 

• FanDuel reported taking a $188,800 bet on McGregor at -290 odds from a customer in New Jersey.
• PointsBet took a $100,000 bet on McGregor at -277 odds.
• At Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, 89% of the money bet on the fight as of Tuesday was on McGregor.

“Since we turned betting on, it’s been all McGregor, all the time,” said John Murray, executive director of the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas. “[We’re] anticipating huge volume this weekend.”

McGregor knocked out Poirier in the first round when the fighters faced off in 2014. Poirier is a consensus +255 underdog for tomorrow night’s bout in Abu Dhabi.

Sportsbooks aren’t the only ones capitalizing on the big fight. 

UFC President Dana White says McGregor-Poirier already has 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, with the final number expected to be much higher.

Millions of dollars are on the line, and hotel rooms have become de facto gyms for the tennis season’s first major.

World No. 1 Novak Djokavic resorted to hitting with support staff on a balcony. Norwegian Casper Ruud, the 27th-ranked player, has served against a propped-up piece of furniture.

“Even for guys who are able to train these two weeks, it’s not optimal training,” No. 117 Taro Daniel said. “Five sets would be pretty brutal this time.”

Players have been forced to abide by strict safety protocols since landing in Melbourne weeks prior to the Feb. 8 Grand Slam. More than 70 players are quarantining in their hotel rooms following flights with COVID-positive passengers.

Those who have tested negative are allowed just five hours outside their hotel room each day, including time for practice.

Craig Tiley, the tournament’s director, said quarantine costs may exceed almost $31 million. 

Although winners will receive 33% less in prize money than last year, the total purse is a record $62 million.

• Players receive over $78,000 just by qualifying for the main draw. They don’t have to win their first match.
• That figure rises nearly $40,000 for every match won.
• The singles winner will receive over $2.1 million; the runner-up gets over $1 million.

The Australian Open is the first major international sporting event of 2021. It could potentially set the tone — logistically and financially — for the Tokyo Olympics in July.

Major tech companies are eager to acquire more big-name video game studios.

Microsoft made a splash last September when it purchased Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax for $7.5 billion. Bethesda is known for the wildly popular “Doom,” “Fallout,” and “Elder Scrolls” games, among others.

The acquisition appears to have set off an arms race of sorts.

Recent reports suggest Microsoft wants more developers under its umbrella to help satisfy Xbox gamers. Sony, Amazon, Google and Electronic Arts are also reportedly on the hunt.

There’s no indication yet which studios might get acquired and by whom, but the past 12 months have primed the market. 

Beyond the Bethesda deal: 

• EA bought Codemasters for $1.2 billion
• Zynga purchased Peak Games for $1.8 billion
• Nintendo announced its acquisition of Next Level Games 
• Through the first three quarters of 2020, more than 400 investments, acquisitions and public offerings generated more than $20 billion in industry value

The global video game market is expected to see 20% growth in 2020 and reach nearly $179.7 billion in revenue.

More industry shake-ups are likely on the horizon as tech giants reach for bigger slices of a growing pie. Hold on to your controllers.

A proposal for a new soccer summer tournament isn’t a direct challenge to the Champions League, but the suggestion alone caused European football powers to respond.

Yesterday, FIFA, UEFA and the other five global soccer federations announced a joint agreement that any potential breakaway competition would not be recognized as legitimate.

The idea of the new competition, which has been rumored for decades, gained steam last summer when some of the world’s elite clubs — including Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool — teamed up on the possibility of creating a European Super League.

An 18-page document outlines the League’s proposed format:

• Qualifying games would be played in the middle of the week.
• 15 top clubs would serve as permanent members, with five franchises from domestic leagues qualifying annually. 
• The clubs would be split into two groups of 10, with the top four teams in each group qualifying for the knockout stages.

The championship round would take place on a weekend and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue for the participating teams.

FIFA warned that players involved in any breakaway league would be banned from its tournaments, including the World Cup.