Remember the blockbuster “Money Fight” between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather in 2017? It shattered PPV records and packed the T-Mobile Arena to witness two of the biggest combat sports icons collide. Hailed as the biggest fight of the year—and arguably the most iconic MMA vs. boxing crossover—it reportedly generated a staggering $600 million in revenue. Showtime Boxing proudly touted that figure, but is it the whole truth? Recently, Mike Perry cast some doubt on that figure.

August 26th marked a historic moment when two of the biggest stars in their respective sports faced each other, generating a staggering $600 million in total revenue. Their clash drew an incredible 4.5 million domestic pay-per-view buys, and the entire arena was sold out. These figures rank second all-time, just behind Floyd Mayweather’s 2015 decision win over Manny Pacquiao in their long-awaited welterweight title unification bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Floyd Mayweather won the fight by putting Conor McGregor via TKO in the 10th round. As the dust settled, Mayweather earned a massive $280 million, while McGregor took home $130 million in purse money. To date, this remains the highest amount an MMA fighter has ever earned—even in boxing, however, was the amount real? Former UFC fighter Mike Perry has raised his doubts.

During his conversation with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo on Pound-4-Pound podcast, Mike Perry raised his doubts over such a massive payday for both of those fighters, “I don’t know if any numbers in history were even true. You know, sometimes, like, Mayweather making $600 million—I don’t believe it. Or Conor made $100 million, then he bought a $12 million yacht. No, but… I don’t know how much is much.” 

Henry Cejudo was surprised, and he countered Perry by stating that he is certain Netflix paid a massive amount to Jake Paul and Mike Tyson for their boxing match. Interestingly, Showtime Boxing revealed the PPV numbers weeks after the fight, which is uncommon for them. When asked why it took so long, they asserted that they were unsure whether the fight’s numbers had surpassed those of the Manny vs. Floyd bout. Well, Mike Perry is not the only one who has raised doubts over the numbers.

Insider believes UFC and Showtime boxing lied about Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather numbers

Marketed as a huge commercial success, the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather bout earned around $55 million in gate revenue. It was widely touted as the biggest crossover fight in the history of both sports—and rightfully so. However, Chael Sonnen has cast doubt on those numbers, claiming he was present at the event and noticed several empty seats in the crowd.

While having a conversation on his Instagram handle, Sonnen stated, “The biggest lie that I lived through. I hear the term fake news in 2016, I didn’t believe that that was true. I thought that was just something you say. I lived through Mayweather [vs.] McGregor, where I stood on the floor of the arena and was instructed to tell the world it was sold out and I could look and there were thousands of empty seats.”

Empty seats at that fight were quite rare, especially considering that photos and coverage showed a packed arena for the battle between the two. However, aside from Chael Sonnen and Mike Perry, no one else has voiced concerns about the reported attendance numbers. Do you think McGregor and Mayweather really made that kind of money? Share your thoughts in the comments below.