UFC Won’t Return To Sphere Despite Record Profits

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

One and done, as promised.

Last weekend’s UFC 306 pay-per-view (PPV) event broke multiple revenue records.

Not only did the “O’Malley vs. Merab” card become the highest-grossing UFC event, as well as the highest-grossing show at The Sphere in Las Vegas, it also set a record for the most merchandise ever sold during a live UFC event.

Those types of profits would make a return to The Sphere seem like a no-brainer, but it turns out UFC CEO Dana White has no plans to make a second trip to the high-tech venue, and it’s not because of the hefty production price tag.

“No, I’m under contract with MGM,” White told reporters at the UFC 306 post-fight press conference (watch it here). “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 ... I have literally been getting blown up by everybody about this event. The other thing we did was that it translated well onto television, too. People felt like it was a different experience than they get on a normal Saturday night for a UFC event.”

In addition to MGM Grand Garden Arena, MGM also operates T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where UFC hosts the majority of its “Sin City” events. How White managed to negotiate a one-off at The Sphere is unknown, but it didn’t sit well with a certain “douche” at MGM.

UFC 306 featured Merab Dvalishvili capturing the bantamweight title from Sean O’Malley in the five-round main event. In addition, Valentina Shevchenko reclaimed her 125-pound crown by knocking around longtime rival and fellow TUF 32 coach Alexa Grasso.

For more UFC 306 news and notes click here.