With a $20 million investment, UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas promises to look different from every other card the promotion has produced.
The ambitious endeavor serves as the first live sporting event at the massive $2.3 billion arena that boasts wraparound LED screens throughout the entire arena, with 16K resolution along with immersive sound for those in attendance. UFC CEO Dana White made it his mission to take a card to the Sphere after attending a U2 concert at the arena alongside NFL legend Tom Brady.
The timing worked out for the event in September largely due to a dispute between UFC and MGM, who have an overall deal for shows in Las Vegas, with all other major cards taking place at the T-Mobile Arena. After MGM signed a deal with boxer Canelo Alvarez for his fight on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena, UFC was able to strike with the show at the Sphere, which is owned by the same company behind Madison Square Garden in New York.
After securing the venue, UFC began planning an elaborate production centered around Mexican Independence Day and working with director Glenn Weiss, who produces live events like the Oscars and the Emmys.
One of the biggest differences for UFC 306 are a set of six short films that are set to air between fights that celebrate Mexico’s contribution to combat sports. Producer and director Carlos Lopez Estrada helped produce the short films, which run approximately 90 seconds each, and the vignettes will air between each fight on the main card.
“At the highest level, we were trying to think about, how do we put on a live MMA fight — 10 fights throughout the night — and not take away from the fight action, not take too much time in between fights where we slow things down, but also tell this other story about the Mexican people and their heritage and their culture, because it’s rich and it’s deep,” UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari told The Hollywood Reporter.
In addition to the six short films airing during UFC 306, Borsari also revealed that each fight takes place in a different “world,” with images projected onto the massive curved LED screen on the inside of the arena.
“Those would be our main drivers for storytelling, everything that Dana wanted to get across … those films then transition into what we’re calling these worlds, which is like these environments that take up the entire LED screen, that then the fights sit within,” Borsari explained.
“So there’s what we call a film and a world and an act. So there’s these acts that take you through the entire night, and we tell the story within those acts.”
The immense cost along with UFC’s existing relationship with MGM likely make the event at the Sphere a one-time only project. White revealed that UFC typically spends around $2 million for the average pay-per-view and the budget for the card at the Sphere was originally $8 million.
Now, with the fights just days away, UFC has invested more than $20 million to realize White’s dream to bring an event to the Sphere.
“I said, ‘I’m doing this.’ I didn’t give a shit what the budget was, I’m doing this,” White said. “I truly believe that this is going to be a game-changer, where sports and entertainment truly come together for the first time ever. And I think a lot of other people are going to see this, and I think they’re going to start to changing the way they build these arenas.
“Right now, this is a one and done. We have a deal with MGM, so I have to go back to T-Mobile and do that. But who knows. This was never supposed to happen this year. This wasn’t on our books. This was never planned. But I guarantee you this, if some new technology pops up, I guarantee you I will be first.”
Source : MMAFighting