UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas might have been probably the most costly playing cards to supply however the gamble paid off.
On Tuesday, TKO Group Holdings revealed that the occasion headlined by Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili ended up as the best grossing card in UFC historical past throughout a number of main metrics.
At the beginning, UFC 306 produced a $22 million reside gate, which smashed the earlier report at $17.7 million when UFC 205 landed at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York for the primary time again in 2016. UFC CEO Dana White beforehand revealed that the present price over $20 million to supply so the reside gate alone covers these prices.
UFC 306 additionally served as the best grossing single occasion held at Sphere for the reason that large $2.3 billion area first opened in 2023.
In the meantime, UFC 306 additionally produced the best grossing sponsorship gross sales for the corporate, which included a marquee branding sponsorship with Riyadh Season — the Saudi Arabia funded celebration headed up by Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the nation’s Basic Leisure Authority.
Extra data had been set for the best grossing gross sales for VIP experiences, which is dealt with via On Location — an occasion service firm owned by Endeavor, the first shareholder in TKO Group Holdings.
UFC additionally touted the occasion for having the best grossing merchandise gross sales in firm historical past as properly.
Regardless of all of the success produced by UFC 306 at Sphere, TKO Group Holdings’ executives and White have each mentioned the occasion was “one and executed.” Whereas the fee to supply a present there performs some half in not returning to Sphere, the UFC additionally maintains an unique settlement with MGM properties in Las Vegas, which is why all main pay-per-views are held at T-Cell Area — an MGM owned venue.
It was solely after MGM booked a Canelo Alvarez battle at T-Cell Area that very same weekend that White was in a position to break away from that deal for the one-night solely card held at Sphere, which is owned by the Dolan household — the identical firm that owns properties like Madison Sq. Backyard and the NBA’s New York Knicks.
