Jeff Bezos and his soon-to-be bride Lauren Sanchez sat next to the Octagon as the UFC made its highly-anticipated debut at Las Vegas‘ Sphere.
On Saturday night, Dana White held UFC 306, also named ‘Noche UFC’ in honor of Mexican Independence Day, the first sporting event at the futuristic venue.
During the main card, Bezos and Sanchez were seated cage-side as sports and entertainment collided in a cinematic, once-in-a-lifetime event.
Other stars present at the event include Steve O, Jamal Murray, Bob Iger, Chris Brown, Andrew Schulz, and Rey Mysterio.
White and the UFC originally had an $8million budget for the event, which he first announced in 2023. However, the UFC chief revealed the organization has spent over $20m for the production – ten times their usual $2m receipt.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez sat cage-side for the UFC’s $20million debut at the Sphere
The production for Noche UFC revolved around so much more than the card which featured some of the promotion’s finest Mexican fighters.
Keeping the theme of Mexican independence, short films that showed different chapters in the nation’s story toward freedom glared on the Sphere’s 360-degree LED screens before each bout.
Behind the Octagon, the UFC had everything from Mayan pyramids to modern-day landscapes in the background as fighters took the stage.
The card features seven fighters of Mexican heritage, spearheaded by Alexa Grasso as she defends her women’s flyweight title against legend Valentina Shevchenko.
Grasso dethroned Shevchenko in March of 2023 via submission. The pair met again in the first rendition of Noche UFC and fought to a controversial draw.
Dana White lead the efforts to hold the first sporting event at the Sphere with UFC 306
The UFC produced a six-chapter short film based on Mexico journey to independence
Each chapter of the film played between each fight in the main card
Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili’s bantamweight title fight will headline Noche UFC
Headlining the event is UFC men’s bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley making his second title defense against No 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili.
Suga Sean heads into the fight after avenging his only loss to Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in March. The Montana native holds an 18-1 record with 12 knockouts and a submission.
On the other hand, Dvalishvili is 17-4 coming behind wins over Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo.
