If you thought that UFC 306’s production cost was abnormally high in terms of what the promotion is used, it would blow your mind after you learn how much Dana White spent on fighters’ paychecks. Reports claim that over $28 million was spent on paying the fighters, which is $8 million more than the amount of money it took to set up the one-and-done Sphere event.

Yes, fans have called the main event and the co-main event snooze fests, but that does not take away the fact that the Sphere was the real star last weekend, as Dana White confirmed that the UFC recorded its highest gate ever and that too, without the help of Conor McGregor. With a first-time champion getting crowned on that night, the loser of that fight went home big.

Dana White pays Sean O’Malley double what he paid to Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O’Malley lost the chance to step into the same shoes that Conor McGregor’s been wearing, being the sport’s biggest star, after failing to cover ‘The Machine’ Merab Dvalishvili. However, there was nothing for him to worry about when it came to the financial side of things because reports claim that he took him an estimated $3.24 million for his UFC 306 outing, including $42,000 in compliance pay, according to ‘MMA Junkie’.

This was way higher than what the newly crowned champion made, as Merab Dvalishvili grabbed a paycheck of $1.43 million, including a $32,000 compliance pay. It’s almost half of what Sean O’Malley did, but it was surely the biggest payday of the Georgian’s UFC run so far.

On the other hand, two more fighters crossed the million-dollar mark for the fights, and if you’ve guessed it, yes, it’s Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso. Both took home $1.08 million and $1.29 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the UFC also spent more than $200,000 for the second time in compliance fees.

Compliance fees for UFC 306 ranged from four figures to five figures

The UFC spent $239,000 on compliance fees at UFC 306. It was the ninth-highest compliance fee total in the promotion history for a UFC event, and the year-to-date total crossed $5 million. The lowest fee was $4,000, earned by Ketlen Souza and Ronaldo Rodriguez, and the highest fee ranged at $42,000, earned by former champions, Alexa Grasso and Sean O’Malley.

But that’s not all, because the UFC fighters featured on the UFC 306 card are also set to receive royalty payments of up to 20-30 percent of all the merchandise sold. It’s clear why Dana White didn’t want to do a Sphere event again, having to spend so much money after the main and co-main events underdelivered given how big of an occasion and event UFC 306 was.

What are your thoughts on the UFC 306 payments? Let us know in the comments down below.