On September 14, the UFC will head to the world-famous Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada for a special UFC Noche PPV event on Mexican Independence Day. Headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Sean O’Malley and contender Merab Dvalishvili is undoubtedly on paper a great matchup and the two have made it more intriguing with their back-and-forth social media beef.
The rest of the UFC 306 card doesn’t jump off the paper with intriguing matchups, and that’s where the story should shift the focus on this truly unique and epic night in UFC history.
Tabbed as ‘Riyadh Season UFC Noche it is the first time in promotional history with a sponsor having title partner status. Riyadh has become a hotbed for combat sports and their partnership with the UFC brings more attention to what UFC CEO Dana White has called a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the strength of the fight card should be overlooked.
White and the UFC have promised to put together an incredible tribute to the history of Mexican culture and heritage, crediting all they’ve done in combat sports. Featuring many fighters of Mexican heritage on the card is certainly a great gesture, including women’s bantamweight flyweight champion Alexa Grasso.
There is no doubt that the fighters will carry a sense of pride in representing their heritage on that night. However, no matter what the results of the evening are, the spectacle of the event will go down in history not just for the UFC, but combat sports.
Holding an event at the Sphere, especially a sporting event in the combat sports space, will be a rarity. Dana White has already said it would be the only time the UFC holds a show at the Sphere and as each week in the build-up continues on, the production cost continues to rise. Already surpassing $20 million thus far in production, the company has made it clear that the night will be one to remember.
With several shows of entertainment with live music and the NHL Draft having been part of the Sphere’s history thus far, the UFC will come as the first live sporting event to be hosted at the unique venue. There are many fight cards where history has been made, world titles have changed, memorable interviews were held, but the location is not always remembered. UFC Noche, no matter what the results are of the night, should be the moment where the night is remembered for the place it was held and the production it took to make it happen.
Telling the history of Mexican heritage in relation to combat sports will be a unique moment of its own, but to do so in the Sphere where the production of the show takes precedence over everything else, will make this unique. If Sean O’Malley continues his title reign with another spectacular performance or Dvalishvili gets his first UFC championship will certainly be a point to remember, but, for maybe just one night, the atmosphere, the stage, and the story should be the focus point.
