UFC 306, also called “Noche UFC,” lived as much as the hype — manufacturing sensible — final Saturday evening (Sept. 16, 2024) inside The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dana White’s “love letter to Mexican folks” was a feast for the eyes, offering combat followers with a six-chapter story advised by wonderful visuals unfold everywhere in the venue’s large, over-sized screens.
The Final Preventing Championship (UFC) CEO is adamant the promotion spent over $20 million to make this one-time spectacle occur in “Sin Metropolis,” however there’s a good larger occasion looming across the nook. That’s in response to Skilled Fighters (PFL) League c-founder, Donn Davis, who says that not solely is the upcoming “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view (PPV) occasion extra intriguing so far as fights are involved, it should value him and his crew more cash to placed on that “Noche UFC.”
“I believe you have got probably the most fascinating males’s combat, and probably the most fascinating girls’s combat [of the year],” Davis advised the New York Submit (through MMA Preventing). “So, to start with, I consider that is the largest occasion potential in MMA due to the co-mains, this yr in 2024, and that makes it, actually, the largest factor for PFL,” he added.
“The UFC is the larger firm, however we’re placing on the larger occasion. So this can be a massive deal for us. Our No. 1 metric is placing on the best high quality MMA combat for followers on the planet. We wish to present followers that we will placed on simply pretty much as good, or higher of a product than anybody else on the planet. That’s metric No. 1.
“Metric No. 2, we wish to do OK financially, simply OK financially. The price of this combat is astronomical. Dana White talks about his $20 million Sphere occasion, that is extra. Fighters make extra, the cardboard right here has extra massive fights coming. This value to us is greater than his value to the Sphere.”
When requested about Davis’ feedback throughout final evening’s Contender Collection occasion, White’s reply was brief and candy.
“I didn’t even know who he was till you stated it,” White responded. “Seems like a good suggestion. Good for him. Good luck, hope all of it works out.”
A lot was stated concerning the lack of motion in each the primary and co-main occasions at UFC 306, although plenty of the intrigue for the occasion needed to do with what the promotion had up its sleeve, manufacturing sensible. Regardless of residing as much as the hype and seemingly turning a revenue, White and Co. don’t have any plans to return to the state-of-the-art venue for an additional occasion anytime quickly.
As for PFL’s “Battle of the Giants” occasion — which is ready to go down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — will probably be spearheaded by an enormous Heavyweight bout between former UFC 265-pound champion, Francis Ngannou, making his highly-awaited debut for the promotion since signing with them over a yr in the past. He will likely be going through off in opposition to division champion, Renan Ferreira, who may make as much as $2 million for the combat, whereas “The Predator” is anticipated to make considerably extra.
Within the co-main occasion, Bellator’s girls’s Featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg, will battle Larissa Pacheco, whereas Middleweight king, Johnny Eblen, will defend his belt for the second time in opposition to Fabian Edwards. Kicking off the primary card will likely be a Light-weight bout between A.J. McKee and Paul Hughes.
Whereas there isn’t a phrase on simply how a lot all the principal card fighters command in wage, Davis is adamant that is without doubt one of the key elements that may put the occasion over the $20 million threshold. Apparently sufficient, each occasions are in partnership with Turki Alalshikh.
