UFC 306 will mark the very first time the UFC will set foot at The Sphere, one of the most interactive venues in Las Vegas. Scheduled for the Mexican Independence Day on September 14, Noche UFC Sphere is set to celebrate the history of Mexican independence with the fights. That’s what Dana White has repeatedly claimed, and the main event is all set to feature Merab Dvalishvili trying to snatch the bantamweight championship title from Sean O’Malley. Needless to say, the event pulled a massive amount from the UFC head honcho.

Back in June 2024, the UFC CEO confirmed that he was already $17 million down with the preparations for Noche UFC Sphere. And now, with just a few weeks left for the big event, White has revealed how expensive the show has become. No wonder, he seemed frustrated with the test runs.

During the press conference for Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, a reporter asked the UFC CEO if the investment for UFC 306 has escalated from the previously stated figure of $17 million. White wasted no time in revealing that the MMA promotion has now surpassed $20 million for the event. 

Thereafter, the MMA reporter asked for the amount the venue demanded for test runs. He claimed that he heard that the UFC was charged about a million dollars every single time they had to do a test run. White couldn’t run away from admitting that the UFC was a pretty costly promotion to manage. And UFC 306 was going off the charts.

White answered, “This is an expensive show. And we have to move in there because they have other things going on. And when we go in there and rehearse, we’re in there like from 1 in the morning till 7 in the morning, rehearsing. So, this is a beast, and I’m way more focused on all that stuff than all this other MGM s***, or what they’re doing, or who’s fighting that night. That is what it is, you know. And we’ll figure all this s*** out after this event.” Notably, the gate receipts for the event are also going to be staggering, according to reports.

As White stated earlier, he was expecting “anywhere from $25 to $27 million” as the live gate receipt. The current live gate record is Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor at UFC 205 in 2016, which was an estimated $17.7 million. The next on the line are UFC 229 ($17,188,895), and UFC 300 ($16,508,823). according to Forbes. TKO Group Holdings chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer had already hinted earlier this moth about this.

“We’ve talked obviously about this being a cultural event and [UFC CEO] Dana [White] has publicly stated how much more [invested UFC is] in this event, and obviously this is going to be a massive spectacle for those in the arena and for those at home. On the top side, this will be one of the largest gates if not meaningfully the largest gate that we’ve ever done, and on the cost side, it’s going to be the single largest investment that we’re making in an event,” he had said. But what is the justification of spending such a massive amount?

TKO Group Holdings president and chief operating officer Mark Shapiro thinks the UFC has its long-term vision in it. He credited Dana white hailing him for not making “every decision based on the dollar.”

“That’s what the Sphere is when Andrew talks about a spectacle. This event is going to be very positive for the UFC brand and business long term. If we have to spend more than we’ve ever spent on an event — and believe me, we’re doing that — it will pay off long term. We expect to use this event to grow our fan base, to increase fan engagement, and most importantly, to capitalize on the growth area that is the Latin market for us,” Shapiro explained.

However, despite the hype that the UFC CEO has been building around UFC Sphere, the event has quite a bit of tickets left unsold. But what could be the reason behind that? Let’s find out!

Unsold tickets cast a shadow of loss at UFC 306

White has left no stone unturned to hype up Noche UFC Sphere. The setup of the Octagon would be different, and it would be nothing short of a theatrical premiere. The UFC head honcho revealed some tidbits about the event during the press conference for UFC 303.

White said, “Normally when we do a fight, we have a truck. There’s gonna be 4 trucks for this event. And we have assembled like literally the most rockstar team on the planet. When I officially get you guys in and walk you through what we are doing, I mean the amount of Oscars, Emmys, Grammy’s the list goes on and on the team that we have assembled to pull this thing off. “

However, UFC 306 is yet to be sold out, as of August 27, 2024. As per the reports, the capacity for UFC 306 is well above 15 thousand. But about 3 thousand tickets are left unsold. This has pointed fingers at the skyrocketed prices for the tickets, which are about $10,000 more than what usual UFC tickets are. But as a result of the unsold tickets, initial prices of between $3,000 and $12,000 for a Noche UFC seat have been slashed.

As per the Ticketmaster website today, a seat with a full view of the UFC Octagon, but a “very limited view of Sphere screen”, cost $757.50, plus fees. On the other hand, the most expensive ticket for Noche UFC, the Official Platinum seat, was priced at $8,807.50, plus fees. If the tickets are still left unsold after the price cut, it might give a pretty heavy blow to the promotion’s wallet. The event will have ten fights which are as follows:

• Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
• Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko
• Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega
• Esteban Ribovics vs. Daniel Zellhuber
• Ode Osbourne vs. Ronaldo Rodriguez
• Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
• Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
• Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
• Kevin Borjas vs. Edgar Chairez
• Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aori Qileng

If the show turns out to be a success, even at a loss, could White return to the venue at a later date? The BMF title was supposed to be one and done but we have had two BMF title fights in less than 12 months and three BMF champions in UFC history. If the Sphere promises something special, could White plan a revisit, and perhaps with better knowhow on how to handle the venue?

What are your thoughts about the expenses White has approved for UFC 306? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.