It appears that Dana White’s highly anticipated UFC event at The Sphere will involve some competition. Saul ’Canelo’ Alvarez and the UFC will go head-to-head against each other. Interestingly, both of them are on the mission of seeing who the bigger dog is in the fighting world. Thus, two major prestige showdowns are set to occur simultaneously.
Dana White has often discussed the significance of the special Sphere event that would take place on September 14. However, there might be competition for attention on that day as Canelo has announced a fight against Edgar Berlanga. The fight will take place in Las Vegas for Mexican Independence Day, which falls on September 14 as well.
Alvarez has headlined fight cards on Mexican Independence Day on six different occasions. The Guadalajara native has won his last four fights and is set to headline another Mexican Independence Day fight card. Meanwhile, the UFC CEO has openly discussed the UFC Noche event as his dream project. He even spent an ample amount of money to make this event a success.
Reportedly, Noche UFC is expected to be headlined by a bantamweight title clash between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. Additionally, Mexican star Alexa Grasso will likely defend her strawweight belt against Valentina Shevchenko. The remainder of the card will include numerous fighters with ties to Mexico. Meanwhile, White has also assured that the UFC Noche event in Las Vegas Sphere would be the greatest sporting event ever.
Dana White talks about the UFC Las Vegas Sphere event
UFC CEO Dana White and Saudi Delegate Turki Alalshikh are collaborating for the Sphere event at UFC 306. ‘Riyadh Season’ has been named as the official partner of the Noche UFC event. The UFC has held events around Mexican Independence Day, with the focus on Mexican fighters getting the spotlight. However, they are doing something unprecedented this time.
Dana White at a UFC press conference (via X)The UFC 306 will not be the first live event broadcast from the Sphere. That honor went to the NHL draft. Interestingly, the UFC CEO has also confirmed that there will be 10 fights on the card, unlike the usual 13. In the post-fight press conference of UFC 303, White said UFC 306 will set the bar for every sports broadcast going forward.
This will never, ever be replicated. Nobody will ever do this again. It won’t make sense for anybody. It’s just too much money… It won’t be the greatest UFC event of all time, it will be the greatest sporting event of all time.
Dana White via UFC 303 post-fight press conference
Dana White says September’s show at Sphere will be UFC’s biggest gate ever and the “greatest sporting event of all time” 😯
“This will never, ever be replicated. Nobody will ever do this again. It won’t make sense for anybody. It’s just too much money.” pic.twitter.com/EKDNyvYSpR
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 30, 2024
Meanwhile, many experts argue that Canelo Alvarez is diminishing his legacy by choosing to fight an inferior opponent. However, no matter who Canelo is up against, the focus will be on how much attention the boxing match receives compared to White’s significant UFC event at the Sphere. Now, who comes out bagging more PPVs from their respective events remains to be seen.
