UFC 306 PPV, the annual Noche UFC card during the extended Riyadh Season at The Sphere, is just days out. The event celebrates Mexican Independence and promises to be the most extravagant event to date. That’s saying a lot, considering the April milestone UFC 300 just went by.
Despite ups and downs, other adjoining cards performed admirably as well. Up until now, the UFC 306 (Noche UFC) card has all been about one thing – the venue. Will the promotion’s multimillion-dollar pay-per-view (PPV) spectacle be worth the dough and attention?
While top brass and UFC production crew have promoted the hell out of “the most spectacular event,” it feels anything but. With a look at the card and the pricing kickbacks, it feels this one has neither been an ode to Mexico nor much of a celebration. Here’s a look into why.
Noche Mexican celebration not enough Mexicano
UFC CEO Dana White has billed the event as a ‘love letter’ to Mexican people. The feature co-mains will see women’s flyweight titleholder Alexa Grasso defend her strap against Valentina Shevchenko. Right now, she is “La Mexicano” and UFC’s P4P #1 among the women. However, Grasso’s title affair can only keep disambiguating the event and provide an additional context of it being a Mexican affair.
Daniel Zellhuber, Ronaldo Rodriguez, Irene Aldana, Manuel Torres, Yazmin Jauregui, Édgar Cháirez, and Raul Rosas Jr. are all Mexicans fighting on the card. But very few are top draws at the moment. Aldana is a long-stay and former title challenger; Rosas Jr. is an exciting UFC competition name. However, that is where the buck stops.
Noche UFC at UFC 306 fight week has arrived but without all top Mexicans (Source: X/IMAGO/ibtimes.com)Former two-time UFC flyweight champ Brandon Moreno and former interim UFC 145lber Yair ‘El Pantera’ Rodriguez are the biggest proper Mexican professional martial artists in the game. Moreno now serves as UFC Edmonton’s feature main event. While UFC 306’s Zellhuber tells Rodriguez inspired his early career, but the former interim featherweight champ is also absent from the card.
The Taller Jacobo y María Ángeles “Tribe Belt No. 1” – i.e., Grasso’s custom belt saw a clear push to promote her Mexican championship status. Yet another annual Noche card, but without top native standouts, seems like a similar push. Add to the fact that Sean O’Malley vs. honorary Mexican Merab Dvalishvili (Georgian) headline the card.
Ticket pricing should justify the lineup
There’s nothing wrong with the lineup, but it does not spell the most spectacular event. The swanky ‘Sphere’ has been a money-sucking venue. The projected blockbuster Mexican Independence Day card has already ponied $20 million in cash, writing a ‘love letter to Mexican people.’ Even after burning through, it does not feel just enough for an elevated price.
Tickets started at a whopping $3,000 each for nosebleeds, with premium seats going as high as $12,000! With cartridges of dome seating arrangement, management tried dynamic pricing for different segments. Yet, with the lowest price falling below $800, there were still some 1,700 tickets unreserved. That only got down from a more noticeable 3000!
Unbelievable entertainment event comes at an unbelievable price (Source: UFC.go.com)The reason is that for a gate estimate from $25-27 million to $21-23 million, the card isn’t stacked enough. UFC 307: Pereira vs Rountree Jr., Live from Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, promises a bigger, more all-around stacked card. Brand value champion Alex Pereira makes his third calendar title defense as the headliner. The Abu Dhabi UFC 308 card is also a banger lineup.
Meanwhile, non-Mexican ‘Suga’ got a better lineup in his March maiden defense at the UFC 299 pay-per-view. The Miami PPV card was stacked all through early prelims with stars like Dustin Poirier, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Gilbert Burns, Jack Della Maddalena, Curtis Blaydes, Kevin Holland and others. However, ‘Suga Show’ and the lineup are not to blame here.
It’s a UFC ‘Sphere’ event celebration, not a Mexican
TKO Group Financial call press statement has stated a more distinctive pause on lux venues like the Las Vegas ‘Sphere’. Due to financial constructs, UFC will hit more roadshows than venue-based ones. With ‘Sphere’ being one-and-done, White and Co. pressed down on the gas hard for it. Hence, the venue itself is the star of the UFC 306 (Noche UFC) Card.
O’Malley and others are not entirely to blame here. He often faces flak for not even having 500k PPV buys. People write him and his neo-fandom off as a social media personality. However, ‘Suga’ has huge ambitions and must be praised for taking Merab Dvalishvili as his challenger. He even recently won the 2024 ESPY for Best UFC Fighter Award. Nevertheless, he may not have gotten much attention.
UFC 306 Annual Noche PPV is all about the venue (Source: Instagram)It turns out the champion himself has voiced against White making out ‘Sphere’ to be the star of the show. It does not help the non-Mexican headliners moreover. Frostbite™, EA SPORTS™ UFC® 5 has even added a ‘Sphere’ venture update for the fight week content for the UFC 306. It will be playable after the fight.
While Dana White is still unsure if the venue will be polarizing enough for combat sports, he is lukewarm to other prospects. Allegiant Stadium, for example, has come up with White scrubbing the idea. UFC is hard-pressed to make a big shebang out of the Sphere. Consequently, the fighter lineup is paying the cost.
Women’s flyweight division put on hold to make another Noche UFC happen
Grasso’s presence and the moniker of a Mexican celebration have been the saving grace for the UFC 306 card. UFC Chief Content Officer Craig Borsari said the 16k resolution LED panel dome will feature 90-second Mexican snippets. These short clips will interlude between fights, celebrating Mexico’s contribution to the sport. It seems a bit of a sidestep for a Mexican celebration without top-draw Mexican staples.
UFC 306 (Noche UFC) card makes a clear championship push (Source: complex.com/YT)To that end, the whole Noche UFC card has been a bit weird. The division has stalled long enough to facilitate the Mexican champion making a title defense against ‘Bullet.’ While this first-ever trilogy in women’s division (UFC) has historical implications, it could have happened anywhere else. For reference, their last fight was on September 17th, last year! Alexa Grasso could have had the opportunity to field multiple callouts in the meantime.
Sweet-as-button Grasso has been a good sport and a prime fighter. She hasn’t yet felt the familiarity breeding contempt that other champs like O’Malley already have. She has even tagged Zhang Weili and Manon Fiorot as next opponents. However, if UFC keeps a division stalled for a thematic super fight again (here’s looking at Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic), it will spell trouble. As such, with such drawbacks, the UFC 306 (Noche UFC) Card has neither been very Mexican nor the celebration it was floated as.
