UFC 306 promises to be one of the biggest combat sports events in recent memory, with the company having allegedly shelled out a whopping $20 million on the venue itself. Headlining this historic card will be none other than the UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, who will defend his title against Merab Dvalishvili. And as the saying goes, the bigger the bout, the bigger the payout.
Dana White says the UFC have already spent $16 million on The Sphere event at #UFC306 and says they already have a card in mind
“Everybody should want to be on that card, believe me… everybody was all fired up about UFC 300. This thing is gonna be… like nothing… pic.twitter.com/26alwOWxn7
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 20, 2024
Although the official purses for the fight are not public information yet, this is an educated assumption based on purse trends as well as previous fight purses.
Sean O’Malley, is one of the hottest tickets in the UFC at the moment. He knows how to sell a card well, and he’s on a 7-fight win streak with the bantamweight belt wrapped around his waist.
According to Marca, ‘Sugar’ earned $2.3 million for his win over Marlon Vera at UFC 299. Based on that, it is safe to say his base pay for the UFC Noche card will be around $2.5 to $3 million, that is excluding the fight bonuses.
His opponent Merab Dvalishvili, on the other hand, is not as big of a draw, despite his stellar track record. He had reportedly earned only $221,000 despite his dominant win over former Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo.
So it is safe to assume his base salary for headlining UFC 306 will be over $300,000. With both fighters promising a finish, it is highly likely that they will walk away with the $50k performance bonus as well.
Even ‘The Machine’, who is typically a relentless grappler with a not-so-stellar finishing record, is confident he can secure a knock out against the champion and has asked fans not to count out his striking game.
Dvalishvili warns fans of knocking out O’Malley
Merab Dvalishvili has issued a warning for both Sean O’Malley and his fans. The Georgian believes the UFC Noche main event will be as unpredictable as ever.
Almost everyone is expecting him to take the fight to the ground as soon as possible and that makes since, O’Malley is a striker par excellence and has an insane reach advantage over the Georgian contender.
However, in a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Dvalishvili issued a warning and asked fans to be prepared to be surprised by his striking skills.
“Everybody knows me as a grappler but I can hit too, don’t be surprised if I knock him out because it’s an MMA fight….I won’t be surprised if Sean O’Malley shoots double leg.”
Merab Dvalishvilli said to be ready for anything, he might knock out Sean O’Malley or O’Malley might shoot for a takedown:
“Everybody knows me as a grappler but I can hit too, don’t be surprised if I knock him out because it’s an MMA fight”
VIA |@espnmma #NocheUFC #UFC306 pic.twitter.com/oQKjZ7Nj3T
— FEDZ_MMA (@Fedzmma) September 11, 2024
On the other hand, he is also not counting out the possibility of ‘Sugar’ shooting for a double leg takedown in the fight. As of right now, this fight is as heated as one can get. O’Malley will want to get over the Dvalishvili chapter, so that he can decide if he wants to continue fighting as a bantamweight or move to featherweight to challenge the winner of Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway for the title.
