It’s common knowledge that UFC 306, taking place at The Sphere in Las Vegas, will be an unprecedented event, and now a few more details have emerged about what will make the event such a spectacle.
The Sphere, a $2.3 billion venue with a 160,000-square-foot LED screen, will have a decidedly cinematic theme at UFC 306 on September 14. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a multi-part film celebrating Mexico’s contributions to combat sports will be screened on The Sphere’s screens between bouts.
“At the highest level, we wanted to figure out how to put on 10 live MMA fights in one night, not take away from the action, not slow the pace down by spending too much time between fights, and also tell another story about the Mexican people and their traditions and culture, because it’s so rich and deep,” UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari said.
UFC 306: O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili airs Saturday at 10pm ET on ESPN+. Order now!
The film, which will be divided into roughly 90-second segments, will be produced in collaboration with Academy Award-nominated producer and director Carlos Lopez Estrada, known for films such as “Blindspotting” and “Raya and the Last Dragon.”
This venue will also be the front line of the action, with LED screens showcasing different “worlds” throughout the match. With a film paying tribute to Mexico’s martial arts culture and various visuals shown during the matches, there’s plenty to see throughout the night.
“These are the main drivers of our storytelling.
[UFC CEO Dana White] “The message we wanted to convey is that these films move into what we call ‘worlds’ – environments that take up the entire LED screen – and the battles take place within them,” Borsari says. “So you have what we call films, you have worlds, and you have acts – you have acts that will engage you all night, and within those acts you tell a story.”
White has bragged many times about the enormous cost of staging an event at The Sphere; what’s certain is that it will cost far more than the $2 million that a UFC pay-per-view typically requires. “I said, ‘I’m going to do this,’ I didn’t say what the budget was, but I’m going to do this,” White said. “I truly believe this is going to be a game-changer. It’s going to bring sports and entertainment together for the first time, and I think a lot of other people are going to see this and start changing the way they build arenas.”
The main event of UFC 306 will be a bantamweight championship showdown between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, while in the co-main event, Alexa Grasso will defend her flyweight crown against Valentina Shevchenko in a trilogy bout.
