This past weekend’s UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas offered combat sports fans a brand-new, immersive experience to celebrate Mexican Independence Day.
While UFC president Dana White doesn’t envision the promotion returning to the venue anytime soon, he believes that the UFC has set itself up as a trailblazer for other professional sports leagues.
For those who missed UFC 306, which the company spent $20 million on, took both viewers in attendance and fans at home on an experience from fight to fight with different cinematic-themed backdrops beforehand thanks to a 160,000-square-foot interior display plane at the venue.
It was ultimately a big win for the UFC, as the promotion scored a record-breaking $22 million gate while also breaking the company record for merchandise sold.
While White wasn’t overly pleased with some of the fights on the card, he did seem quite happy about the feedback he received about the overall experience for fans at home and those in attendance.
“I don’t know if anyone has ever seen anything like this,” said White in his post-fight presser after Saturday’s event. “If you have, I don’t know where the f*** you live or where you came from.”
Ahead of the event, it was dubbed a “once in a lifetime” event by White. But now, White is questioning whether other sports leagues may follow the UFC’s lead and potentially host their own themed event at the Sphere.
“It’ll take the NBA or one of these companies with a ton of money (to do it),” said White, retrieved by ESPN. “But we showed tonight what’s possible. You can do more than concerts here. So, who’s next?”
Naturally, it seems like boxing could pull off a similar production at the Sphere given the parallels between MMA and boxing. But the NBA, as White alluded to, is also an interesting possibility. Particularly because they already host a number of events in Las Vegas.
The NBA has been trying to stir up interest around the NBA Cup, their new in-season tournament, by making customized courts and jerseys for the event. It is also already hosted annually in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. Maybe one day we see the league attempt to make the NBA Cup a more immersive experience by moving to the Sphere.
Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray, who was in attendance at UFC 306, spoke about that possibility and seems to be all for it.
“You could play on different planets, underwater,” Murray told ESPN. “You can really get as creative as you want, which means there’s no limit to it.”
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.