The fires in California continue to wreak havoc. The crisis has caused severe destruction of the forest lands, and owing to the dry conditions, moved to the inhabited areas of the state. Over 11 lives have been reportedly lost in the fires, 150,000 people have evacuated and another 166,000 are on standby. And this disaster has caused UFC officials to seek out potential alternatives to host UFC 311.

As the wildfires continued to spread with the help of Santa Ana winds, Dana White and Co. found themselves in a bit of trouble. If the fires aren’t brought in control, UFC 311 might not happen at the Intuit Dome, California. Weighing in on this, the UFC CEO said, “Well, if the fire gets bad, we are coming to Vegas… Yeah, we’ll move it to Vegas. If it gets too bad. But as of now? It’s all go. The NBA is gonna go this week. We are gonna go.” After all, they simply cannot cancel an event featuring Arman Tsarukyan vs. Islam Makhachev, and Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov this easily.

Keeping this in mind, we at EssentiallySports asked Open AI’s ChatGPT to give us some suggestions for the venues to host UFC 311, in case the original plan to host the event in California gets jeopardized by the wildfires. Let’s take a look at what the AI had to suggest.

1. T-Mobile Arena

Located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, this multipurpose indoor arena has often hosted UFC events. With a capacity of 20,000, the UFC has already hosted events like UFC 300 and UFC 310 at the arena. Needless to say, this would be the perfect substitute for Intiuit Dome, California. 

Well, it’s not just the accommodating capacity that has attracted UFC and other sports promotions to T-Mobile Arena. Apart from the Las Vegas-styled design, the 2-acre outdoor Toshiba Plaza has also played a role in inviting the promotions.

It’s worth noting that the famed MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani, announced on X that T-Mobile Arena hasn’t been booked by anyone for January 18. The reporter quoted, “As of right now, 311 is staying at Intuit. The hope is it remains there. But they are monitoring and ready to move the card if need be. No talks of delaying the card. Obviously, that call needs to happen soon.”

But the T-Mobile Arena is not the only choice that Open AI’s Chat GPT provided us with. The next suggestion was the arena that has attracted fighters like Jon Jones. If you guessed it right, we’re indeed talking about Madison Square Garden, New York.

2. Madison Square Garden

UFC 205 was the first-ever UFC event that was held at the Madison Square Garden. It was also the fight promotion’s debut in New York. Till now, Dana White and Co. have hosted about 8 events at the MSG. All of those were super events, garnering a massive surge of attention from all around the fighting world. It is now a tradition for the UFC to host their November PPV at the Mecca of fighting. But will the fires move them to breaking it?

This venue has a capacity to accommodate 19,500 fight fans for UFC 311. It’s one of the few venues that has the ability to dictate the gates through its facilities and location. After all, hosting an event at MSG would guarantee the influx of celebrities, too. UFC 309 was the last time the MMA promotion stepped into the MSG. With wheelchair-accessible entrance, parking, seating, and restrooms, along with assisted listening devices and designated aisle and companion seats, MSG has become one of the top choices for the fight promotion.

All that being said, the venue is not up for grabs for the UFC. On January 18, the New York Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets will collide in their NHL game at the arena. This brings us to the last suggestion that came from the artificial intelligence chatbot – Houston.

3. Toyota Center

The UFC entered into a multi-event partnership with Toyota Center back in 2021. UFC 262 was the first event that the Texan arena hosted. Without a doubt, the UFC head honcho was a fan of the arena. Impressed by the promotion’s performance at the arena, White once said, “I love the city of Houston. We had a sold-out event in May, the city and fans are incredible, so we are heading right back in August. Working with Tilman and his team has been amazing and we will continue making Toyota Center a home for UFC.”

Toyota Center has the lowest capacity of the three suggestions, with space to accommodate only 19,000 people. But backed by a large parking spot with 2,500 spaces, private entrance, restaurants, lounges, et cetera, things have become exciting for UFC events in Houston. But alas! That venue is taken too.

PBR-Unleash the Beast events will go down at the arena on January 17 and 18. Yes, we’re talking about Professional Bull Riders, in which Dana White has his bulls (some of you might remember the recently deceased Twisted Steel).

There are also other honorable mentions like the Vivint Arena (Delta Center) in Salt Lake City, Barclays Center in New York, and Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. But all of these are booked for the date of UFC 311. This brings it down to just the T-Mobile Arena as the only viable option if the UFC wants to shift the PPV event.

Do you think California fires will force the UFC out of Intuit Dome? Let us know what you think of the AI’s suggestion in the comments down below.