It has been well-documented that UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas will be an unprecedented event. Now, a few more details have come to light as to what will make it such a spectacle.
The Sphere, a $2.3 billion venue that features a 160,000 square foot LED screen, will include a distinctly cinematic theme for UFC 306 on Sept. 14. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a film celebrating Mexico’s contribution to combat sports will run in chapters on The Sphere’s screen in between bouts.
“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 Bolsari said.
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The film, which will be separated into approximately 90-second segments, will be produced in partnership with Academy Award nominated producer and director Carlos Lòpez Estrada, who is known for films such as Blindspotting and Raya and the Last Dragon.
The venue will also be at the forefront when the fights themselves are happening. During each bout, a different “world” will be projected on the LED screen. Between the film paying tribute to Mexican combat sports culture and the different images depicted during each bout, there will be plenty to take in throughout the evening.
“Those would be our main drivers for storytelling, everything that [UFC CEO Dana White] 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 says. “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.”
White has repeatedly boasted about the extravagant cost for producing an event at The Sphere. One thing is certain: It far exceeds the $2 million that a typical UFC pay-per-view requires. “I said, ‘I’m doing this.’ I didn’t give a s—t 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.”
UFC 306 is headlined by a bantamweight championship clash between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. In the co-main event, Alexa Grasso will defend her flyweight crown against Valentina Shevchenko in a trilogy matchup.
