Las Vegas Sphere: The real star of UFC 306 isn’t even a fighter

If the UFC delivers on its president’s promise, Saturday will bring the “greatest sporting event of all time”. Those were the words of Dana White, talking up the first sports event to take place at the revolutionary Sphere in Las Vegas: UFC 306, or UFC Noche, or Riyadh Season UFC Noche (306).

See, the sell of Saturday’s fight card has been muddled. The pay-per-view event is UFC 306, following the MMA company’s typical numbering pattern. Nominally, it is UFC Noche, a celebration of Mexican fighters on Mexican Independence weekend (even though the main event does not feature a fighter from the nation). And promotionally, it is Riyadh Season UFC Noche, as the second UFC event with Saudi involvement.

Yet it might well have been called UFC Sphere. Many readers will be aware of the game-changing venue, which opened a year ago and sports a domed screen all over its exterior, and another immersive screen inside. It has thus far hosted music groups like U2 and Eagles, has screened films, and has played a background role in the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

But on Saturday (14 September), the Sphere will play no background role. “The Sphere is the star of the show,” an ever-bullish White told ESPN this week.

“You’ve never experienced anything like this in your life. While we were watching U2 […] you listen to the music and watch the images, and every once in a while you look over at U2. I’m like: ‘This would be fascinating to pull off a sporting event.’ This is where sports and entertainment truly come together for the first time ever.”

Perhaps the Cosm bar in Los Angeles offers the closest experience to the Sphere, so far – although not on the same level as the Vegas venue, at all. It is a room with a huge, curved LED screen, showing that this is the direction of travel for new event spaces.

“I think this is a groundbreaking event,” White continued, “in the fact that other leagues will look at this [and] will start to build these arenas or refurbish the old arenas; you start to think about the technology of the LED screens and all the things that could be possible.”

He may be right. But given White is prone to hyperbole and possesses a mixed track record when it comes to backing up his words, UFC 306 could yet be mind-altering or over-hyped. Still, it is not only the UFC president who is vouching for the Sphere.

Journalist Kevin Iole tweeted last week: “Just did a walkthrough of what #NocheUFC will look like. Oh. My. God.” Meanwhile, fighter Brian Ortega said this week: “They put VR [virtual reality] goggles on us and kind of gave us the experience of what it’d look like when we’re in there – just without the fans obviously, but with the seats and everything.

“It looked pretty crazy. One walks in from the left, one walks in from the right; the walkout now is like almost two minutes [long]. They have some crazy things they’re gonna do with the lights, from what I heard, and their idea is to make this a one-and-only event. We have a little bit of insight, but you don’t know until you’re there.”

White has since suggested that a movie will play on the big screen throughout the evening, essentially split into chapters between fights, presumably paying tribute to Mexico’s history of fighting. The details remain unclear, but White said: “My goal in this thing is to be nominated for an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Grammy.”

In any case, Ortega’s reference to a “one-and-only’ event” echoed White’s words; the UFC president said in the build to 306: “This is going to be a one of one, one and done, never done again.”

Yet surely the UFC will attempt to make it an annual event, given White has also predicted the highest gate in UFC history? Not necessarily.

The American, 55, initially projected a gate of $25-27m but later reduced that figure to $21m. It is unclear whether any of those numbers are guaranteed, with many seats still available – and overpriced, according to some fans. At the time of writing, the cheapest tickets available on Ticketmaster are listed at $730 (with a limited view of the screen) while the most expensive cost over $10,000.

In this sense, the UFC might have overestimated interest in the Sphere, the ‘celebration’ of Mexico’s fighting history, and/or the main event between American Sean O’Malley and Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili. It is, in truth, an intriguing match-up, and O’Malley is one of the biggest stars in the UFC. However, “Sugar Sean” has not reached the crossover heights that were hoped for: those scaled once, and only, by Conor McGregor.

Another intriguing thread to UFC 306 is its competition with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga. Also on Saturday, also in Vegas, the face of boxing will defend his unified super-middleweight titles at the T-Mobile Arena.

That fight is admittedly not one for which fans have pined. Driving the point home, Canelo’s former promoter – and now bitter enemy – Oscar De La Hoya has vowed to attend UFC 306 rather than the boxing. White, who may loathe the boxing great as much as Canelo does, hit back: “I don’t know where [De La Hoya] is getting his tickets from. Definitely ain’t getting them from me. It’s him trying to sh*** on Canelo.” But White was later forced to confirm that De La Hoya will attend the UFC as a guest of Saudi adviser Turki Al-Sheikh – the man who has changed boxing in the last year, but who has dipped his toes into MMA before working with Canelo.

So, while there is a chance that UFC 306 disappoints the promotion from a financial perspective, it may not matter; Saudi involvement could render financial concerns moot.

And finances are, as ever, just one pixel in the bigger picture. Entertainment is another, and the UFC has promised fans something inconceivable – in the best sense. Saturday will reveal whether the UFC can keep that promise.