UFC 306 being popularized as Noche UFC will take place at the iconic Las Vegas Sphere. The hype around the card is humongous and is expected to be one of the biggest pay-per-view events recently. With speculations about the card rising through the roof, UFC CEO, Dana White is back with an important announcement.Â
Dana White has frequently talked about his grand plans regarding the Las Vegas Sphere event. He has previously talked about spending almost $17 million on the card with two months to the event. In a recent interview at The Pat McAfee Show, White surprised fans with the total number of fights planned for the Sphere. Comparatively less than the standard number of UFC bouts that take place in a PPV event.
We’re going to do 10. There will be a main, co-main, and obviously this card will be very Mexican-heavy.
Dana White via The Pat McAfee Show
White is currently in shock after his close friend and presidential candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during a rally. However, this hasn’t suppressed his determination to put on the greatest combat sports event in history at Las Vegas Sphere. The promotion is planning to use the Haptic feedback system of the Sphere to give fans a top-notch experience.Â
Other than the commitment of the event being a Mexican-heavy card, no other updates are provided by Dana White. This has raised multiple speculations regarding the potential main event and co-main event of Noche UFC. With mega fights like Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway and Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili on the table, things are looking interesting.Â
Dana White doesn’t want the Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway fight for Noche UFC at the Sphere
Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria recently got into a heated social media exchange where they talked about their potential title clash. The ’Blessed’ announced that he was already talking to the promotion and asked the champ to be ready for the Sphere. The rumors took further momentum when the UFC French broadcaster made a blunder and leaked the main and co-main events.Â
Dana White has no plans to make Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway at the Sphere (via X)
However, popular MMA reporter Ariel Helwani has now put the brakes on a potential Topuria vs. Holloway fight at the Sphere. Helwani recently announced that Dana White is more focused on Alexa Grasso, the only Mexican champion’s title defense against Valentina Shevchenko.Â
The plan was always the [Alexa] Grasso title defense as she told us a couple of weeks ago…Then the other plan would be Ilia vs. Max most likely on the October 5th Utah card, which hasn’t been officially announced yet.
Ariel Helwani via The MMA Hour ShowÂ
🚨 Ariel Helwani denies the rumours of Topuria vs Holloway and O’Malley vs Merab both being on the Sphere card.
He says the current plan for the Sphere is:
O’Malley vs Merab
Alexa Grasso title defenseAnd the plan for Utah in October is:
Topuria vs Holloway
Pennington vs Peña… pic.twitter.com/pBuPIdRmzQ— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 15, 2024
According to Helwani, it makes no sense for the UFC to have a Spanish champion headline a Noche UFC event. Nonetheless, all of this speculation is undoubtedly helping the Las Vegas Sphere event gain more attention. It would be interesting to see if Dana White is able to accomplish what he promised to the fans.Â
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