UFC 306, held at the Las Vegas Sphere on Saturday, brought in $22 million at the gate, breaking the previous $17.7 million record set by UFC 205.
More than 16,000 fans watched in awe as Noche UFC played out across a backdrop of Mexican-themed environments, from an ancient temple to a futuristic Mexico City. As an early celebration of Mexican Independence Day, the spectacle did not disappoint.
For Mexico. For all time. #NocheUFC #UFC306 @ufc pic.twitter.com/nTDa9W87Ih
— Sphere (@SphereVegas) September 15, 2024
UFC CEO Dana White was inspired by a U2 concert he attended at the Sphere last year. But it took a lot of money and manpower to turn his inspiration into a reality. White said they spent $20 million on the night, requiring upwards of 500 people to create and produce the event. He wasn’t disappointed.
“I don’t know if [anyone has] ever seen anything like this. If you have, I don’t know where the f--- you live or where you came from,” White told ESPN.
Even if the ticket sales were a breakeven proposition, UFC more than made up for it in merchandise sales, which also broke a UFC record, according to White.
If there were any disappointments Saturday night, they probably had more to do with the fights themselves than the Sphere’s production.
The upset of the night was arguably Sean O’Malley’s loss to Merab Dvalishvili in the UFC bantamweight championship fight. After the first unanimously unsuccessful defense of his bantamweight title, O’Malley confessed, “I think it’s good to be confident in your skills, but I overpromised and underdelivered.”
Meanwhile, Valentina Shevchenko regained the women’s flyweight title from Alexa Grasso.
Unfortunately, the one record broken inside the ring wasn’t the kind most people were ready to see on the Sphere’s 50-foot screen. In the prelim between Norma Dumont and Irene Aldana, Aldana suffered arguably one of the most gruesome cuts in UFC history.
Will there be another?
Acknowledging Noche UFC’s triumph, White admitted it would take a herculean effort to replicate it. He does think, however, that the UFC’s success at the Sphere might change the way arenas are designed in the future. And he threw down the gauntlet, challenging other sports to accomplish what the UFC did on Saturday night.
“It’ll take the NBA or one of these companies with a ton of money [to do it]. But we showed everybody tonight what’s possible,” White said. “You can do more than concerts here. So, who’s next?”
