UFC 306 had a lot to live up to after the hype that Dana White and the UFC had created around the event. There was criticism of the card on paper but all of that changed once the event got underway. The MMA leader’s use of the ground-breaking Las Vegas Sphere made for an incredible […]
UFC 306 had a lot to live up to after the hype that Dana White and the UFC had created around the event. There was criticism of the card on paper but all of that changed once the event got underway.
The MMA leader’s use of the ground-breaking Las Vegas Sphere made for an incredible spectacle that we’ve never seen before and seemingly, won’t again for some time. White was very clear that their decision to run the Sphere was because the T-Mobile Arena was already booked for the night that they wanted to do the second annual Noche UFC.
Since the event took place, both fans and fighters have called for the promotion to do it again but there hasn’t been any movement on this since. Endeavour President Mark Shapiro recently spoke about this in a recent statement, making it clear once again that White wants to double down on it being a one of a kind show.
“We do not intend to do another event at the Sphere. That was a one and done, I think we’ve signalled that to the market. Of course, anything can change like rock bands do their farewell tours and seem to stick around for another 20 years but Dana is pretty intent that this is a one and done, that’s why we spent so much, that’s why we made so much out of it.”
“By the way, last time I checked, the Sphere is launching in Abu Dhabi. Dana did say no more events at the Sphere in Vegas, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go to Abu Dhabi. So, I’m looking forward to pursuing that when that gets built, probably two decades from now.”
Mark Shapiro:
Dana did say no more events at the Sphere in Vegas, but that doesn't mean we can't go to Abu Dhabi. So, I'm looking forward to pursuing that when that gets built, probably two decades from now. pic.twitter.com/8fNRI7uGwF
UFC 306 had a lot to live up to after the hype that Dana White and the UFC had created around the event. There was criticism of the card on paper but all of that changed once the event got underway. The MMA leader’s use of the ground-breaking Las Vegas Sphere made for an incredible […]
UFC 306 had a lot to live up to after the hype that Dana White and the UFC had created around the event. There was criticism of the card on paper but all of that changed once the event got underway.
The MMA leader’s use of the ground-breaking Las Vegas Sphere made for an incredible spectacle that we’ve never seen before and seemingly, won’t again for some time. White was very clear that their decision to run the Sphere was because the T-Mobile Arena was already booked for the night that they wanted to do the second annual Noche UFC.
Since the event took place, both fans and fighters have called for the promotion to do it again but there hasn’t been any movement on this since. Endeavour President Mark Shapiro recently spoke about this in a recent statement, making it clear once again that White wants to double down on it being a one of a kind show.
“We do not intend to do another event at the Sphere. That was a one and done, I think we’ve signalled that to the market. Of course, anything can change like rock bands do their farewell tours and seem to stick around for another 20 years but Dana is pretty intent that this is a one and done, that’s why we spent so much, that’s why we made so much out of it.”
“By the way, last time I checked, the Sphere is launching in Abu Dhabi. Dana did say no more events at the Sphere in Vegas, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go to Abu Dhabi. So, I’m looking forward to pursuing that when that gets built, probably two decades from now.”
Mark Shapiro:
Dana did say no more events at the Sphere in Vegas, but that doesn't mean we can't go to Abu Dhabi. So, I'm looking forward to pursuing that when that gets built, probably two decades from now. pic.twitter.com/8fNRI7uGwF
Triple H is envious of what Dana White accomplished at Noche UFC. Last month, the Ultimate Fighting Championship delivered…
Triple H is envious of what Dana White accomplished at Noche UFC.
Last month, the Ultimate Fighting Championship delivered on its promise to produce an event unlike anything combat sports fans had ever seen before. The promotion’s card inside the already iconic Sphere in Las Vegas was a spectacle that had everyone, including the WWE’s Chief Content Officer, swooning.
Triple H: I see what Dana is doing and they're just crushing it. And I see stuff at the Sphere and I look at that production and I'm like, 'I wanna do that.'#WWEBadBloodpic.twitter.com/uIXfD28Rd4
“When I see what Dana is doing and they’re just crushing it and I see stuff at The Sphere and I look at that production and I’m like, ‘I wanna do that.’ It’s just like a lot of fun,” Triple H said during a press conference following WWE Bad Blood on October 5. “Man, it’s amazing to watch them do what they do, at the level they do it, and there’s nothing like that in the world” (h/t Sportskeeda).
Though the budget for the event exceeded $20 million, Noche UFC brought in a record-breaking $22 million gate, breaking the $17 million record set by Conor McGregor’s clash with Eddie Alvarez in November 2016.
It also eclipsed the company’s previous records for highest-grossing merchandise sales and highest-grossing sales for VIP experiences. It also generated more sponsorship dollars than any other event in UFC history.
Noche UFC fails to close the show with a bang
As much as a spectacle as the evening was, the action inside the Octagon left a lot to be desired. Particularly in the case of the co-main and main events. Both Valentina Shevchenko and Merab Dvalishvili deployed a wrestle-heavy attack against their opponents en route to a pair of uneventful world title victories.
Their performances were dominant, but not exactly fan-friendly which left the UFC CEO a bit frustrated.
“You can control how much you spend on the production of an event, but you can’t control the fights,” White said of the lackluster title fights during the post-fight press conference.
Even if UFC doesn’t head back to the Sphere again, there’s a lesson in their success debut at the location.
After Saturday night, the big discussion coming out of Las Vegas wasn’t the fact that Merab Dvalishvili finally reached the top of the bantamweight division, or that Valentina Shevchenko regained her top spot at flyweight. The most talked about part of the show wasn’t even any of the fights, but instead, the way they were presented.
UFC 306 was arguably the top fight promotion’s most innovative event yet, seamlessly mixing storytelling and art into a high-profile MMA lineup. It was an experience that the sport had never seen before, and one it might never get again.
Image Credit: UFC
The Sphere Overshadows Title Fight Evening
It’s incredibly rare that the theatrics of a UFC event outdoes the show’s fights. But on Saturday, that’s exactly what happened.
UFC 306 took place at the MSG Sphere, a venue which has gone viral seemingly every other week since its official opening in late 2023. The 18,000-seat-capacity venue took more than $2 billion to build, decking the building out with cutting-edge LED technology that has set itself apart from any other location on the planet.
In a city full of glitz and glam, The Sphere’s glowing exterior has made it stick out from the rest of Las Vegas. On the inside, a 160,000-square-foot LED screen powers one-of-a-kind experiences.
Clips of concerts from bands like U2 and Dead & Company showed the venue’s impressive visual capabilities in previous months. However, what had never been seen until recently was how the location could be used for a sporting event.
It was hard to properly set expectations for UFC 306. We knew what concerts at the Sphere looked like, and we were certainly familiar with what a good MMA card looked like, but we had never before seen anything like what was set to take place on Saturday.
Early in the evening, some started to worry that the show would be underwhelming. The Sphere’s towering LED backdrop provided some opening visuals that didn’t provide the stunning atmosphere that many had paid to see. However, anyone who wrote off the show’s potential in the first couple of hours would eat crow later that evening. UFC ended up saving the venue’s potential for the main card, which played out like one long story that climaxed with the main event.
UFC 306
By 7 p.m. local time, UFC 306’s presentation kicked into full gear. Over the next few hours, the Sphere stole the show and had the best performance of the night. In between each fight, the screen aired a six-part short film directed by Carlos López Estrada titled “For Mexico, For All Time.” López Estrada’s vision for the series was to show the history of Mexican people in a series of styles. The film starts by discussing early civilizations, later covering tradition and history, and eventually zooming past the current day and imagining what the culture’s future could look like.
Telling the story of Mexico’s rich history in roughly 12 minutes was the nearly impossible task that López Estrada and his team had to tackle. In that time they told an empowering and inspiring story of a culture that has overcome great adversity to survive. It explained the values and traditions of Mexican society, overall representing the country’s people in a way that should make them proud.
Chapter Three: Rituals & Traditions
Through the rituals and traditions of Mexico's earliest civilizations, the essence of the ancestors lives on, immortalized in customs that endure across generations.
When the film wasn’t airing, the pay-per-view portion of the night took place in “worlds.” These animated backdrops teleported the fights into all-new atmospheres, coinciding with the chapters of the movie. The Sphere’s incredible picture quality made these settings look unbelievably immersive. Some online said the show was the closest thing we’ll get to real-life versions of Mortal Kombat characters fighting on different in-game maps, and it’s hard to argue against that.
By the end of the night, even the biggest UFC skeptic should have been willing to admit that the event lived up to the incredibly high expectations that the promotion set for it.
Despite the top fights on the card being not entirely exciting—both titles changing hands due to un-competitive wrestling-heavy performances, something that doesn’t interest the average MMA fan—Saturday will be remembered as one of the biggest nights of this year in the sport.
What Can UFC Learn From The Sphere?
As enjoyable as UFC 306 was, there’s something bittersweet about the fact that UFC CEO Dana White has stated that it’s a one-and-done for the promotion. Due to their exclusive Vegas partnership with the T-Mobile Arena, plus the massive alleged eight-figure production cost that came with Saturday’s card, there’s fair reason to believe that they won’t head back to the venue despite their latest show being a massive hit.
Even if there will only ever be one UFC show in the Sphere, there’s an important lesson to take from Saturday night. So much of the anticipation swirling around the event was due to the fact that it would be something new, something different from the week-to-week churn that the brand produces. Shouldn’t they lean into breaking that repetition, even if it’s in smaller ways?
Over the past couple of decades, UFC has nailed down a formula on how to present their live events in person and on broadcasts. The way that most cards from the promotion are shown create a great atmosphere for audiences and hype up fans watching at home. But, sticking to a formula means that the shows have repetition. People know how the show is run every week, it’s always the same song and dance, and the only thing that really changes is who is fighting in the cage. For a sport that is arguably more linked to entertainment and professional wrestling than any other, why shouldn’t more avenues for storytelling and artistic expression be explored?
Part of what felt interesting about UFC 306 was the fact that it was simply something different. Whether or not the show would live up to expectations, we knew it was going to stray away from the run-of-the-mill broadcast format that we see on UFC cards.
With more than 40 events per year, so much of the UFC calendar blends together. And when the fights aren’t great, there’s nothing going for the shows. Instead of making cards solely about who is competing that evening, UFC should lean more into the entertainment side of the product and try more special-themed cards.
Home Run
Think of it this way: If it wasn’t for the Sphere, Saturday’s card would probably be considered one of the weaker PPVs of the year. Both title fights weren’t very competitive, the card was a shorter-than-usual 10 fights, and there were few ranked talents competing lower in the lineup. But the show having a unique presentation gave fans something else to enjoy as well, making the evening not just about the fights.
As much as renting out the Sphere and pouring millions into production is great, it wouldn’t even take that much to make UFC cards more special. Take for example Caposa’s idea to host a Pride FC tribute show in Japan, which could pay homage to a trailblazing MMA promotion that UFC owns the intellectual property of.
UFC 306 will be remembered as an absolute home run for the promotion, delivering the impressive mix of art and sport that they hoped to achieve. Nothing can match what they presented on Saturday at the Sphere unless, of course, they decide to head back to the venue someday. Here’s hoping that they will do something even a fraction as cool as this event in the future.
Then in the UFC 306 headliner, ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley puts his bantamweight gold for the second time in 2024 when he squares off with the division’s top-ranked contender, Merab Dvalishvili.
Having already seen an event inside Sphere first-hand, two-time welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal expects this weekend’s once-in-a-lifetime card to deliver something truly special.
“I don’t know if it’ll [the venue] impact the way they fight so much,” Masvidal told Kevin Iole. “It’s going to be an experience, though, because I’ve been in there [the Sphere] for a 3D show, and it was amazing. It was mind-blowing—the graphics, the stuff—but obviously, they’re not doing that now. But I still think they’ll play a lot of the graphics on their projectors and stuff, so it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“I really wish I could have made it to this event. The card is stacked from top to bottom with a lot of up-and-coming talent. It’s going to be f*cking amazing, maybe even some future world champions on this card right here. So I think it’s a great, great card, man” (h/t MMA News).
Jorge Masvidal excited for UFC 306 main event
Masvidal also shared his excitement for the long-awaited clash between O’Malley and ‘The Machine,’ suggesting that ‘Sugar’ could end things early, but it’ll ultimately come down to whoever keeps it “more real” inside the Octagon.
“The main event is one that I’ll be watching closely, brother. I’ll be watching the main event 100%. I’m a big fan of both of them. I love Merab’s style—just coming forward, does not give a f*ck, does not know how to get tired. This guy just has an unbelievable gas tank, is pretty good at wrestling, and now he’s mixing it up better, where he’s throwing punches and getting right to it.
“But Sean is a sniper—one shot, one kill type of guy. Great athlete with great distance, great timing, and the longer arms, so it’s going to be a battle. I think whoever can keep it more real is obviously going to win, but it’s going to be a battle no matter what. I think it’s going to end up being a really good fight, or maybe I can see Sean maybe catching him early too—you never know.”
Hosting the first ever sporting event at the Sphere this weekend has brought a lot of opportunity to the UFC, but also a lot of hurdles to overcome. Whilst the venue that will play host to UFC 306 on September 14 is state of the art for those in attend…
Hosting the first ever sporting event at the Sphere this weekend has brought a lot of opportunity to the UFC, but also a lot of hurdles to overcome. Whilst the venue that will play host to UFC 306 on September 14 is state of the art for those in attendance, it comes with a lot […]
Triple H is envious of what Dana White accomplished at Noche UFC. Last month, the Ultimate Fighting Championship delivered…
Even if UFC doesn’t head back to the Sphere again, there’s a lesson in their success debut at the location.
Jorge Masvidal expects great things out of the UFC’s highly anticipated debut at Sphere in Las Vegas. On September…
