Dana White is not sparring any cost for what he expects to be a UFC event that will be unlike anything the promotion has done.
Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, White said the card for UFC 306 in Las Vegas will feature fewer fights but many Mexican fighters, which was already on the table back in February when White first revealed plans for the event.
“We’re going to do 10 (fights),” White told McAfee. “There will be a main, co-main, and obviously this card will be very Mexican-heavy.”
The UFC will host its first-ever fight night at The Sphere in Las Vegas on September 14, which will also be called Noche UFC, to celebrate Mexican Independence Day.
White says there has already been a big financial investment made for the event which will only happen once given everything that’s being invested.
“We’re deep into it (planning). I’m already $17 million into this thing and we’re not anywhere near September yet.,” White explained. “When I say that I’m going to put on the greatest live sporting event in the history of combat sports, maybe in sports, period. I’m going in one night, one time, never again. It’s going to be the most unique bad-assed, incredible show that you’ve ever seen in sports.”
The Sphere has already put forth some promotion for the upcoming event, in a small preview of what can be expected.
When it comes to a headline fight for the card, there has been no confirmation but reports suggest a potential bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
What will also make this event unique is the seating arrangement. The Sphere in Las Vegas, which features a 160,000 square-foot 16K-resolution wrap-around screen inside, has a seating capacity between 18,000 and 20,000 for an event.
Along with standard seats throughout the venue, there are luxury suites and the potential for fans to actually stand on the floor to witness the event.
“You’re going to have people that are in the seats, people that are in the suites, and then the bottom level where people are actually standing and will watch the whole thing standing room only,” White explained. “Then there will be bleachers and seats.”