The Sphere more than proved the shape of things to come – although it could be a while before the UFC returns to the unique Las Vegas venue.
The $2.3bn dome boasts the largest LED screen – 1.2m of them to be precise – with the highest resolution in the world and UFC president Dana White made the most of every single one at UFC Noche. The show was a “love letter to Mexico” to celebrate the country’s independence day, with each bout preceded by a short, visually dazzling film highlighting its fighting heritage.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship put on the ultimate immersive experience, with White delighted all the expense, planning and hard work paid off for a show like no other at UFC 306. He said: “The whole thing was seamless, it went perfectly. We didn’t have a lot of time to rehearse, which was our big worry coming in here. But they nailed it, the team absolutely nailed it.
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“I saw it first when it was at 50% resolution and then Thursday was our first full rehearsal, so the team killed it. It was absolutely amazing. But we didn’t really have enough time to pull this event off, we didn’t have enough time to rehearse this event and we spent s***load of money on the production.
“When I said I was ‘$17m into this, $20m into it’ – you get why I was $20m in now, right? You saw it as the production quality was off the charts. Doing Mexican Independence Day in the Sphere, you are actually telling a story, rather than just fights.
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“Someone came up to me and said, ‘This is so f***ing awesome, you have got to do the fourth of July now for America!’. But the point is there was a story to be told and it was the perfect place to celebrate Mexican Independence Day.”
While Noche proved more than a notch above, it could be a while before the UFC returns to the Sphere as the company has a multi-year deal with MGM to hold Vegas pay-per-views at the T-Mobile Arena. This opportunity for White only came up because Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez had already booked that Strip venue.
When asked about a return, White, who enjoyed a company-record $22m gate, added: “I am under contract with MGM, so no. The way this whole thing played out, it was meant to happen. It happened, we did it and we killed it.
“I always like to push the envelope and make it better. When new technology comes out I try to raise the bar, because I think it should be praised]. It is easy to say, ‘F*** it’ and go put on some fights on a Saturday night. But we showed everybody what is possible.”
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