Dana White’s imaginative and prescient for UFC 306 is beginning to come to gentle.
The UFC CEO on Tuesday revealed the primary particulars of his manufacturing plan for the Sept. 14 occasion at Las Vegas’ famed Sphere venue, which White has repeatedly known as “a love letter” to Mexican fight sports activities.
“So what we’ve finished, actually what we’re going to do on September 14 takes over a yr to do. We’re doing it in 4 months,” White mentioned Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Present. “So, when the present begins, we’re going to have the prelims, after which we’re going to inform — all through the remainder of the evening — the historical past of fight in Mexico, from the start of time and into the long run. So the primary struggle of the evening will begin initially of time, the primary occasion would be the way forward for Mexico. That’s the primary time I’ve ever talked about this.”
UFC 306 contains a 10-fight card headlined by two title bouts, as UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley faces Merab Dvalishvili in the primary occasion and UFC ladies’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso places her belt on the road in a trilogy bout towards Valentina Shevchenko. Grasso is the primary Mexican UFC ladies’s champion and her most up-to-date bout towards Shevchenko headlined UFC’s inaugural Noche UFC occasion in September 2023.
The Sphere is a $2.3 billion venue that contains a 160,000 square-foot 16K-resolution wraparound display inside and usually seats between 18,000 to twenty,000 individuals. White has touted the pay-per-view present as a one-off, attributable to it being the most costly manufacturing in promotional historical past, with greater than $17 million already spent. Nevertheless, with the most cost effective tickets priced within the hundreds, TKO Group Holdings chief monetary officer Andrew Schleimer mentioned the occasion may find yourself producing the biggest reside gate in firm historical past.
“Look, we’re bullish,” Schleimer mentioned on an investor name in early August. “We’ve talked clearly about this being a cultural occasion and Dana has publicly acknowledged how way more [invested UFC is] on this occasion, and clearly that is going to be an enormous spectacle for these within the enviornment and for these at house.
“On the highest aspect, this shall be one of many largest gates if not meaningfully the biggest gate that we’ve ever finished, and on the fee aspect, it’s going to be the only largest funding that we’re making in an occasion. It’s much more costly than we initially anticipated.”
With a month to go till the massive day, White is happy to point out off what UFC put collectively, but in addition is aware of he should ship on the spectacle he’s promised for greater than a yr.
“Pay attention, now we have to execute, however this factor goes to be — in case you are even this a lot Mexican, you’ll love this occasion on Mexican Independence Day on the Sphere,” White mentioned. “I assure you. It’s so badass.”
