Tom Brady’s Role in UFC 306 at the Sphere

September 13, 2024 612 Views by

Tom Brady’s invitation to Dana White to attend a U2 concert at Sphere helped inspire the UFC’s first live sports event at the Las Vegas venue. White later said the Sphere’s enormous LED display gave him the idea for UFC 306’s film-driven presentation. The event took place on Sept. 14, 2024, drew a sold-out crowd of 16,024 and generated a reported $22 million gate, then a UFC record.

From concert to fight-night concept

White said Brady invited him to a U2 concert at Sphere. Watching the venue’s wraparound display prompted White to call UFC production head Craig Borsari about staging an event there. The origin story is based on White’s account, reported before the event by TIME and TMZ; Brady’s role was the invitation, while UFC executives and production staff developed the event.

Building the Sphere production

The venue presented unusual production challenges because it did not use a traditional center-hung scoreboard or standard arena lighting rig. UFC and Sphere built a show around short films and visual sequences displayed between fights, tying the card’s presentation to Mexican history and combat sports. This production design accompanied the fights; it did not alter the official results.

The event and its records

UFC 306, branded Riyadh Season Noche UFC, took place at Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14, 2024. UFC and Sphere later reported a sold-out audience of 16,024 and a $22 million gate, describing it as the highest-grossing UFC event and the highest-grossing single event at Sphere to that date. Those figures describe ticket revenue and attendance, not profit or production cost.

A notable card in a new venue

The main event saw Merab Dvalishvili defeat Sean O’Malley by unanimous decision to win the bantamweight title. Valentina Shevchenko also defeated Alexa Grasso by unanimous decision in their trilogy bout. Brady’s invitation helped set the idea in motion, while the final event combined the UFC card, venue technology and a high-grossing live audience.

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by Oscar Madison - Sep 13, 2024

by Oscar Madison - Sep 13, 2024