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 referred to as “a love letter” to Mexican fight sports activities.
“So what we’ve carried out, actually what we’re going to do on September 14 takes over a yr to do. We’re doing it in 4 months,” White stated 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 combat of the evening will begin in the beginning of time, the principle occasion would be the way forward for Mexico. That’s the primary time I’ve ever talked about this.”
UFC 306 includes a 10-fight card headlined by two title bouts, as UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley faces Merab Dvalishvili in the principle occasion and UFC girls’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso places her belt on the road in a trilogy bout towards Valentina Shevchenko. Grasso is the primary Mexican UFC girls’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 includes a 160,000 square-foot 16K-resolution wraparound display screen inside and customarily 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 costliest manufacturing in promotional historical past, with greater than $17 million already spent. Nevertheless, with the most cost effective tickets priced within the 1000’s, TKO Group Holdings chief monetary officer Andrew Schleimer stated the occasion might find yourself producing the biggest stay gate in firm historical past.
“Look, we’re bullish,” Schleimer stated on an investor name in early August. “We’ve talked clearly about this being a cultural occasion and Dana has publicly said how far more [invested UFC is] on this occasion, and clearly that is going to be a large spectacle for these within the area and for these at dwelling.
“On the highest aspect, this will probably be one of many largest gates if not meaningfully the biggest gate that we’ve ever carried out, and on the associated 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 — if you’re even this a lot Mexican, you’ll love this occasion on Mexican Independence Day on the Sphere,” White stated. “I assure you. It’s so badass.”
UFC 306’s full card lineup will be seen right here.
