With more than $20 million gone into the development of UFC 306, the excitement for the event is quite high. To raise the excitement even further, Dana White has kept on providing insights and building the intrigue. But this came along with extremely high ticket prices and severe backlash relating to it.

As the MMA promotion was forced to cut the ticket cost down, White and the head of production for UFC Noche, Craig Borsari, ensured that the fight fans’ entropy remained high. And they did succeed as they revealed their plans for UFC’s debut at The Sphere.

Dana White and Craig Borsari reveal what they have in store for UFC Noche

The Sphere is indeed the most interactive venue in Las Vegas. But what inspired the UFC head honcho to opt for such an expensive venue? It was all because of the opening act of the Sphere, the U2 residency. Needless to say, White was present at the show and soon realized that the true star was the Sphere itself. As per ‘The Hollywood Report’, he said, “I was blown away by the technology, and I started thinking about the possibilities of what we could do.” White knew that sooner or later, someone would host a sporting event at such a marvelous location, and he wanted to be the first one to do so. But the challenge was to make the fights more engaging and immersing.

The UFC has thus planned to run a film set to narrate the story of Mexican Independence at Riyadh Season Noche UFC. Borsari, the chief content officer of the MMA promotion revealed the troubles the team had to face while trying to incorporate the films without affecting the action on the Octagon. The UFC chief content officer said, “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.”

Thankfully, the team did come up with a solution. And it all pointed at the 160,000-sq-ft curved LED display. Borsari continued, “Those would be our main drivers for storytelling, everything that Dana 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. 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.”

With such extravagant plans for the event, the promotion had to put in quite a bit of money. And there was only one way to make up for the investment. That was by increasing the prices of the tickets. But little did White know that this plan was going to backfire. However, White made a promise that it was going to be worth every penny.

UFC CEO promises an amazing night for the ticket buyers

During the press conference for Dana White’s Contender Series season 8, the UFC head honcho was asked if he could deliver the entertainment he promised for UFC 306. White didn’t waste a single moment to convey how confident he was with the plans. He disclosed that he himself used to have doubts about the promises he made. But all those worries disappeared once he stepped in for a rehearsal.

The UFC CEO said, “How’s this going to be? We sat down, and they made a mistake when they started doing the rehearsal. They played me as one of the middle pieces of the show. I literally looked at Craig and said, ‘Sorry, I said, you know, don’t show me anything else.’ I can get up and do it right now. I’m good. It’s bada–. It’s going to be awesome. It’s just about execution now.”

Despite the high energy and strong promises, the UFC was forced to cut down on the prices for UFC 306, to ensure that every single seat gets sold out. But whether it will be worth it or not is something that only time can tell. 

What are your thoughts on White’s plans for UFC Noche? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.