Despite the absence of possibly the biggest star in all of MMA, UFC 303 was a resounding success for Dana White and the promotion! The MMA sphere was left wondering about the fate of the card after Conor McGregor pulled out of his clash against Michael Chandler just weeks out from the event. This led to a scramble by the UFC to figure out a way to still put on a show for the fans as Alex Pereira came to their rescue by taking on a short-notice rematch against Jiri Prochazka for the light-heavyweight title.

McGregor’s return had been highly anticipated by the fandom with the ticket sales for the event doing massive numbers as Chael Sonnen had revealed, “That little $23 million gate that you hear about, it’s not sold out. That thing was going to come in at closer to $27 million when it was done.” But despite possibly missing out on a record-setting gate for UFC 303, Dana White recently shared that it was the fan’s trust in the promotion that still made the event a massive success.

Dana White confesses fans “trust” in the promotion behind UFC 303 success

According to a report shared on X by Jed I. Goodman, the announced gate for UFC 303 came up to a staggering $15.9 million! The numbers indicate that despite Conor McGregor’s short-notice withdrawal, the event still managed to draw a significant amount of fan interest, highlighting the relationship between the fanbase and the promotion.

As such, during the UFC 303 post-fight press conference, White stated, “Well, I think what happens is we’ve built up this trust level with our fanbase that they know when they show up we’re gonna put on a good show.”

The UFC boss also confessed that because of the original main event for the card falling through, the fans had the option to get a 50 percent refund for their tickets. However, surprisingly, a large number of the fans didn’t choose to do that, which led White to further state, “They came and came in for international fight week, so yeah, I think it’s a testament to the trust that we have built with our fanbase.”

Looking ahead, UFC 303 showcased the resilience and adaptability of the organization in the face of unexpected challenges and as Dana White noted, the event’s outcome underscores the UFC’s commitment to providing fans with top-tier entertainment. The same can be evidenced by White’s recent revelation about the staggering costs behind setting up the upcoming ‘Riyadh Season Noche UFC’ or UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

UFC boss is pulling out all the stops for the fans in setting up ‘Riyadh Season Noche UFC’

On September 14, UFC CEO Dana White has planned to unveil a UFC event that he has proclaimed will be, “…like nothing anybody’s ever seen before.” The UFC 306 card, which has now been re-branded to ‘Riyadh Season Noche UFC’ is the second card by the promotion that aims to honor the Mexican Independence Day and will mark the first ever time a UFC event will have a title partner sponsor.

In his appearance on ‘Club Shay Shay’ with Shannon Sharpe, the UFC boss claimed, “I’m already $16 million into this thing…” referring to the cost of setting up the event in ‘The Sphere’. He further went on to state that the UFC is hard at work to ensure the event lives up to the massive hype surrounding the first ever live sporting event to be held at the ‘The Sphere’.

As such, it remains to be seen what fights the promotion puts on this landmark event and the fans are eagerly anticipating more news about the card. What fights would you like to see featured at ‘Riyadh Season Noche UFC’? Let us know in the comments below.