The upcoming UFC 306: Riyadh Season Noche UFC is one of the year’s spectacles and the promotion has high hopes for it. However, it seems that the event might be struggling to get in the numbers it expected. UFC CEO Dana White pointed out that he has spent over $20 million to make the event a grand success. But now it seems that he is struggling to sell tickets with just a few days to go.

White has now made it clear that he won’t be attempting anything like this in the future and has solid reasons behind it. However, his friend doesn’t quite feel the same. His UFC 306 partner Turki Alalshikh recently took to his X account to share a message for the fans.

Dana White’s friend is confident about the PPV numbers for UFC 306

Amidst all the chaos, Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh has given the fans something to cheer about with his latest X post. He tweeted, “Riyadh season card ppv Will be with good price for the fans”. This is the second time that the UFC is honoring Mexican Independence Day with a fight card, and the first one took place on September 16 last year.

The UFC CEO was highly amazed when he went to see a U2 concert at the Sphere. White pointed out how excited he was to see the structure in Las Vegas and was determined to host a UFC event there. However, things have taken a completely new turn as the promotion is struggling to sell tickets for the event. Reports suggest there are still about 3000 tickets unsold with only a few days left for the event. Tickets for the event have been priced at a whopping $12000, with the lowest being $3000.

However, it is now reported that the lowest ticket prices are at $800, which shows that the event is not living up to the hype as expected and the promotion has to slash prices for a sold-out arena. Dana White has already trimmed down the capacity from 20,000 to 15000, which points to yet another setback for the event. But the worst of the lot is Canelo Alvarez fighting on the same day and driving a lot of the PPV sales to his fight against Edgar Berlanga.

Dana White, in a conversation with Kevin Iole, made it clear that he was expecting a gate of “$25-27 million” from the event. He also made it clear that this was something that was never done by any promotion. However, the Sphere was never the first choice for the UFC head honcho. In a recent interview, White confessed that the promotion had different plans for the event but was derailed due to a dispute with MGM.

White gives the honest reason for him moving to the Sphere for UFC 306

UFC CEO Dana White finds himself in a very tough spot because of one of its oldest partners, T-Mobile Arena. The venue is owned by MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), and White and the UFC have a partnership with them. However, their relationship is not the same as they had previously. The whole thing turned sour after White discovered that the date they wanted for the event had been quietly handed over to another. White was furious about the entire incident and, in a recent DWCS (Dana White’s Contender Series) post-fight press conference, shared his opinion on the whole.

The 54-year-old had no objection in stating the details and said, “We went there last year. That was our date last year, and then without even asking us or talking to us, they gave the date away.”. After failing to book the T-Mobile Arena, White and the UFC had no option other than hosting the event at the Sphere, which he couldn’t use as he was under a contract with MGM. But the UFC head, in his own style, gave out the reason as to why the Sphere allowed them to host the event. He said, “I couldn’t do the Sphere because I’m under contract with MGM, but because they f—ed us, they let us do it.”

Last year, White and the UFC took the venue away from Canelo Alvarez. He had to move his fight date to September 30 to avoid a clash with the UFC. This time around, fortune favored ‘Saul.’ He got the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas and is close to selling out his fight against Berlanga. As for White, he had to bend over backwards to make the UFC the first-ever sporting event at the Sphere. What’s more, it will be a one-off and he wants to make it a big one. So he has already spent upwards of $20M, with a million just for each test run they do.

The last-minute shift has not only hampered the plans of the UFC but also highlighted the tension brewing behind the scenes. The next few days will be important as Dana White attempts to host a historic event. Do you think the fans will turn up for the upcoming UFC 306 event and fill up the seats? Let us know about it in the comments below.