UFC Executive reveals how UFC 306 will utilize the enormous 160,000-square-foot LED screen at The Sphere in Las Vegas
09/05/2024 05:37 AM
Whilst UFC 306 may be headlined by two superb world title fights, the 'star of the show' is arguably the venue itself; with the promotion expected to utilize every single inch of the enormous 160,000-square-foot LED screen during the PPV.
In fact, a UFC Executive has now revealed how the UFC will be using the gigantic screen, with each individual fight taking place in its own 'world' that will be plastered across the arena walls.
UFC Executive reveals how The Sphere's giant screen will be used for UFC 306
Earlier this week, MMA media members were given the chance to learn more about the upcoming UFC 306 show at the Las Vegas Sphere; with UFC Chief Content Officer Craig Borsari offering a glimpse into what fans can expect from the 'once in a lifetime' PPV.
Borsari explained, as reported via THR, that whilst the promotion wants to make the most of the technology available, there's a fine line between 'visual spectacle' and 'visual distraction'.
"At the highest level, we were trying to think about, how do we put on a live MMA fight — 10 fights throughout the night — and not take away from the fight action.
"[How do we] not take too much time in between fights where we slow things down, but also tell this other story about the Mexican people and their heritage and their culture, because it's rich and it's deep."
That line between spectacle and distraction has already been touched on by one of the event's key fighters, Brian Ortega, who admitted last month that he will "for sure be distracted" by the screen when he takes on Diego Lopes on the UFC 306 main card.
"Those would be our main drivers for storytelling, everything that Dana wanted to get across," continued Borsari.
The UFC CCO then shared how the promotion has developed a 'film' that explores the entire history of combat sports in Mexico specifically for the 160,000-square-foot LED screen, which will be broken up into 90-second chapters that will be shown in between fights.
"Those films then transition into what we're calling these 'worlds', which is like these environments that take up the entire LED screen, that then the fights sit within."
It's unclear what these 'worlds' will actually look like, with the assumption being that the display will show various different environments from the iconic Mexican landscape for athletes to fight in – for example, the streets of Mexico City, and UNESCO World Heritage Site Chichen Itza, or the ruined pyramids of Monte Alban.
"So, there's what we call a film and a world and an act," said Borsari, adding how "There's these acts that take you through the entire night, and we tell the story within those acts."
According to veteran reporter Kevin Iole, who was in attendance for the walk-through, the render time for the videos to be used on the giant screen is between seven and 10 days each; meaning that every tiny update takes a full week to render correctly.
Dana White explains the motivation behind UFC 306's huge $20M investment
Dana White first got the idea to host a UFC PPV at The Sphere when he attended a U2 concert there, with the UFC President being "blown away by the technology" as he started plotting a way to write the promotion into the venue's history books.
"I guess I looked at this thing and said, 'Eventually, somebody is going to come in here and pull off a sporting event, I want to do it; I want to be first'… If you take what U2 did and multiply it by a million, that's where we are. It's a whole other universe, not even another level, it's a whole other universe."
White claimed that even as he considered the enormous costs of putting on such a show, his mind was already set on The Sphere hosting a UFC PPV: "I didn't give a s*** what the budget was, I'm doing this.
"I truly believe that this is going to be a game changer, where sports and entertainment truly come together for the first time ever. And I think a lot of other people are going to see this, and I think they're going to start changing the way they build these arenas."
Even if UFC 306 is a ground-breaking success for the promotion, it's unlikely that we'll see the UFC return to the iconic venue anytime soon given how it's already cost some $20 million to stage.
"The answer to your question is, right now, this is a one-and-done. We have a deal with MGM, so I have to go back to T-Mobile and do that, but who knows. This was never supposed to happen this year, this wasn't on our books, this was never planned.
"But I guarantee you this, if some new technology pops up, I guarantee you I will be first."
UFC 306 goes down live from The Sphere in Las Vegas on September 14.
