‘Films, Worlds, And Acts’

The UFC’s head of production has shared some details on what exactly UFC 306 will look like from inside the Las Vegas Sphere

What will Riyadh Season Noche UFC at the Sphere look like on September 14th? The UFC hasn’t dropped a single frame of footage from inside the infamous curved LED-covered walls, but we now know a little bit more about what to expect thanks to an article from The Hollywood Reporter.

According to UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari, the promotion plans to “run a film told in chapters celebrating Mexico’s contribution to combat sports serving as interludes … in between bouts.” The clips, which are expected to last about 90 seconds each, were overseen by Academy Award winning director Carlos Lopez Estrada, who was behind the Disney animated movie Raya and the Last Dragon.

“Those would be our main drivers for storytelling, everything that Dana wanted to get across,” Borsari said.

The fights themselves will take place in different ‘worlds.’

“Those films then transition into what we’re calling these worlds,” Borsari continued. “Which is like these environments that take up the entire LED screen, that then the fights sit within. So there’s what we call a film and a world and an act. So there’s these acts that take you through the entire night, and we tell the story within those acts.”

THR reiterated how expensive the event is, especially compared to other UFC events. The outlet had Dana White noting that most UFC pay-per-views cost the company $2 million to put on. This Sphere event started with an $8 million budget, and is now sitting north of $20 million.

Fortunately for the UFC, they expect the gate alone on UFC 306 to surpass $20 million to become the biggest in the company’s history. Add in pay-per-view and the lucrative Riyadh Season sponsorship, and the company will be just fine financially at the end of this one-and-done event.

Now we just have to see how the artistry of Sphere and the fights play out across six hours.