When Conor McGregor returned to his corner at the end of the third round of his megabout with Floyd Mayweather Jr in the very early hours of Sunday morning, the farce that is expected to earn him and his conqueror a combined $400 million was fully exposed.

What happened next and for however much longer it lasted were largely irrelevant — the myth about mixed martial arts’ supremacy when set against boxing had been smashed, hopefully never to be entertained in such context again.

In an age where society has gone mad, making it ripe for the advent of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and for it to be considered sport, the most significance that can be attached to this “contest” was that it properly aligned the pecking order. For once and for all.

McGregor, the hero of the UFC — which on the evidence of what took place in Las Vegas is anything but “ultimate” — called out one of the greatest boxers who has ever stepped in the ring and then was made to look like a rank amateur within ten minutes of action.

Wild boasts about early knockouts, despite ready evidence that the very best of the noble art have barely laid a hand on Mayweather throughout a 20-year career, helped to sell the fight. But what was worse is that far too many actually believed the hype.

Or was this, deluded McGregor fanatics apart, yet another final chance for many to wish misfortune on the thoroughly unlovable Mayweather?

Whichever you choose, a trash-talking, walking tattoo from the showbusiness side of competitive sport was never going to put a dent into a journeyman boxer, let alone an all-time great. Even if that great had been retired for two years.

But it was what the fans wanted, and we can only hope that they got their money’s worth, if not the result they wanted.

McGregor’s punching power was non-existent. The statistics show that he connected — better still, was allowed to connect — more on Mayweather than Manny Pacquiao had done in the American’s last superbout. But the self-styled “The Best Ever” appeared at the end as unmarked as ever.

More damning for the Irishman was his lack of conditioning. Mayweather walked McGregor down for seven rounds after the third round, battering him from pillar to post before the referee brought a halt to proceedings one minute into the tenth round.

That 20-minute period said all you need to know about a “sport” that is far more barbaric than noble and which, in playing up to humanity’s baser instincts, places greater emphasis on savagery and bloodlust than it does on stamina.

McGregor had none.

But he may have done all he can do in an industry that for significance has been blown out of all reasonable proportion, so where to next?

Who cares?

History may show that Mayweather’s most important fight was not either of the wins over Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Canelo Álvarez or Manny Pacquiao that helped to propel him to 49-0, but the 50th — that which burst the UFC’s bubble and put it back in its lane.

Entertainment? Yes. Sport? No.