While the September 14th event delivered thrilling action and a few lessons, it was the jaw-dropping $22 million grossed gate receipt that stole headlines.
This massive return is the highest for the UFC and the Las Vegas Sphere, surpassing the 2016 UFC 205 $17.7 million record.
UFC 306 is the sphere's second major sports event, hosted only two months after the NHL 2024 draft. Both events confirm the strategic role the $2.3 billion edifice could play in American sports, and it looks good.
The entertainment level for the night, promoted as Riyadh Season Noche UFC, was just as great as the ticket sales, with 10 fights on the cards.
Valentina Shevchenko bested Alex Graasso to reclaim her title in a Flyweight bout, while Bantamweight challenger Merab Dvalishvili dominated Champion Sean O’Malley to the title in the main event.
With a few days to the show, Dana White was already seeing red, vowing never to host another event on the sphere. His tone was a bit calmer after the conclusion of the promotion, but he still maintained a “No” when asked if the UFC would revisit the sphere. However, he explained that this updated stance was because of his MGM’s contract obliging the UFC to use the latter's co-owned T-Mobile Arena for major events.
White’s initial frustration was fueled by the sphere’s off-the-ceiling production cost. The MMA legendary promoter hoped to produce a video on the sphere’s giant hi-def screens at a capped cost of $8 million. However, expenses ballooned to a whopping $20 million against the $22 million gross gate receipts. This situation meant that the brand's only chance of profit was via pay-per-view sales.
The $22 million receipt sales also came at a price, with seats selling between $2500 and $23,437.50, the sphere highest ever. While these tickets sold out on paper, substantial numbers remained available at heavily discounted prices on resale markets a few hours before showtime.
Stubhub, Vivid, and Seat Geek each had hundreds of tickets selling at $520, $502, and $531, respectively. White justified the high pricing by referencing the Irish rock band’s performance in the same venue last year. “Whatever that cost them, they had 40 nights to amortize those costs. We just have one.”
The sphere wasn't the most profitable for UFC 306, and it would be difficult to blame White entirely for picking it. He initially hoped to host the night at the T-Mobile Arena but had to improvise because of a date clash with Canelo Álvarez and Edgar Berlanga boxing match.
Ultimately, the event was a success and one to remember for the books and the fans, and we do agree with White's statement, “This thing, I told you guys leading up to this, the way that this whole thing played out, tonight was meant to happen. It happened. We did it. We killed it.”