UFC CEO Dana White claims that troubles with their top Las Vegas venue partner caused what has become a costly one-off trip to the popular Sphere location.
For years, the UFC has been under a deal to host their top Las Vegas events inside the T-Mobile Arena, a venue operated by MGM Resorts. In 2023, a part of that schedule was “Noche UFC,” a Mexican Independence Day card headlined by a flyweight title fight.
This year, Noche UFC isn’t heading to the T-Mobile Arena, but instead to the wildly popular – and expensive – Sphere. The venue has become one of the more popular parts of Las Vegas over the past year, providing unparalleled LED screen presentations while also seating over 10,000.
Some would expect that UFC’s trip to the Sphere was a move done due to the venue’s current relevance. However, according to White, the event was actually done due to the promotion being blocked from hosting an card at the T-Mobile Arena this year.
“We went there last year,” White said on Tuesday, talking about the T-Mobile Arena. “That was our date last year. And without even asking us, or talking to us, they gave the date away. That’s why I’m at the Sphere. I couldn’t do the Sphere because I’m under contract with the MGM. But because they f***** us, they let us do it.”
The T-Mobile Arena is opting for another massive combat sports event on Mexican Independence Day: A bout featuring superstar talent Canelo Alvarez.
White went off about his rocky relationship with MGM, claiming “This is what these guys have done for the last however many years.” He teased an upcoming documentary that would fully explain their issues together.
White has long hyped the production quality the upcoming event, going as far as to say it will be the “craziest show anybody’s ever seen.” On Tuesday, following an episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, the UFC CEO claimed that costs for the pay-per-view event have ballooned up to $20 million.
Upon initial ticket release, the cost for a seat started at the massive price tag of $3,000. The price has dropped significantly since then, with some seats now going for less than $1,000.
The event, which is headlined by UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley and long-time contender Merab Dvalishvili, still has lots of tickets on sale with a little over two weeks to go. WrestleTix noted Monday that Ticketmaster has shown just under 12,500 tickets distributed, with another 3,000 still on sale.
Riyadh Season Noche UFC
Sat • Sep 14 • 3:00 PM
Sphere, Las Vegas, NVAvailable Tickets: 2,929
Current Setup: 15,410
Tickets Distributed: 12,481📈 | +74 since the last update (7 days ago)
📅 | Days until show: 19 pic.twitter.com/49u6OIQKx2— WrestleTix (@WrestleTix) August 26, 2024
Along with the bantamweight main event, the card will see Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko meet in a trilogy fight for the UFC flyweight title.
