Who knew Tom Brady would be the reason the Riyadh Season Noche UFC became so iconic…Not only does the name ‘Noche’ carries a special significance, but the September 14 event will be the first sporting event to be held in the iconic Las Vegas ‘Sphere’, and the first LV-based UFC event not held at the UFC Apex or T-Mobile Arena since March 2023—the Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili show took place at the Theater at Virgin Hotels. A “love letter to Mexico”, the event is a tribute to the nation’s people, their culture, their Independence Day on September 16, and contribution to the combat sports.

Now that we’re already aware that the UFC 306 is going to be the most exciting path the promotion has ever taken, an interesting question to ask ahead of the Sean O’Malley-Merab Dvalishvili main card would be: Why aren’t more events happening at the 17,500-seater, $2.3 billion venue? For starters, it’s too expensive. But before we get on with the financial dent it left in Dana White‘s pocket…

It seems not many sports can make use of the arena either. While we would all love for an NFL showdown, the venue’s seating arrangement is constructed on one side of the building, pointing toward a stage, as opposed to others like the T-Mobile arena, where stages are normally in the center with seats wrapped around it. Whatever the case, it poses as a perfect stop for the UFC 306 and its great matchup—a “game changer” as per White.

However, the UFC CEO also vowed to never return to the venue. That’s because the cost of doing an event at the Sphere is tremendously expensive. Most UFC cards have a budget of about $2 million in production costs alone. But when it comes to ‘The Sphere’, it’s about ten times the cost of a normal event. Initially, the promotion had earmarked around $8 million, which has more than doubled to $20 million, as per reports.

Notably, the UFC president’s buddy and NFL superstar Tom Brady gave him the idea for hosting the fight at the entertainment venue after the seven-time Super Bowl champion invited him to the U2 concert. “Had Brady not invited me, I wouldn’t even have been to the Sphere yet. It’s almost like this was meant to be,” he said. For those unaware, the duo’s friendship dates several years, and White was also part of Brad’s Netflix roast!

Having said that, what’s more challenging is producing video content at the Sin City venue due to its interactive and unique structure, especially for one-night events like the UFC 306 that solely depend on ticket sales. Talking about it, White had said to SNY Sports on September 10, “Think about U2 [the Irish rock band who played at the first-ever show at The Sphere],” before adding, “Whatever that cost them, they had 40 nights to amortize those costs. We just have one.”

Not to mention the UFC is going all out for the event and has doubled the production team and equipment for the broadcast, hiring multiple Emmy winner director extraordinaire Glenn Weiss who has directed the Oscars and the Emmy awards. But thankfully, the UFC has been able to secure external funding from a very deep-pocketed investor.

UFC 306 is the first PPV to be title-sponsored by Riyadh Season

We have been calling the September 14 UFC event UFC 306, but it is not quite right. The official name for the event is Riyadh Season Noche UFC. Why? Well because Riyadh Season, which is an arm of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, is the first-ever title sponsor for a UFC event.

And quite an event they have chosen. While the financial details of how much the investor is paying the UFC are unknown, the arrangement will be mutually beneficial for both parties. After all, the UFC gets to leverage the marketing and promotional heft of Riyadh Season, along with being able to split costs. Riyadh Season, on the other hand, will be able to publicize itself on one of the biggest combat sports events in the biggest combat sports market in the world.

Have UFC 306 tickets inside the Sphere sold out? Prices and more

Since the cost to put on UFC 306 has been so high, the ticket prices for the event have been proportionally high. But, it seems the ticket sales have lagged somewhat. While the initial prices for the event ranged from a minimum of $25oo to a maximum of $23,000, prices have fallen significantly.

While the tickets for UFC 306 are yet to sell out, they are available on reselling services like Ticketmaster and StubHub. And the prices for UFC 306 on these websites range from just over $1,000 up to $5,000, which is still quite high. Dana White has claimed that the event has already crossed the $23 million gate mark.

In addition, it turns out that the UFC was almost forced to put the card at ‘The Sphere’ because the other venue, the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas was booked up with the biggest Mexican combat sports superstar, ‘Canelo’ Alvarez who will face Edgar Berlanga on the same night as UFC 306. What are your thoughts on UFC 306 costs? Let us know in the comments section below.