UFC News: Dana White Drops Bombshell Vegas Sphere Prediction

Dana White sat down with Pat McAfee at Super Bowl LVIII Radio Row to discuss all things UFC, including a future 2024 event.

Zain Bando | Feb 7, 2024

UFC News: Dana White Drops Bombshell Vegas Sphere Prediction /

UFC CEO Dana White is in his home city of Las Vegas, Nevada, where the UFC promotional headquarters are based. It is also the week of Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, making a Radio Row appearance for White inevitable as a significant sports personality.

White sat down with ex-Colts punter and well-known sports media personality Pat McAfee on his podcast to discuss all things UFC and MMA-related.

Topics included UFC 300, which White remained silent on, a failed attempt at a Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight announcement, free speech, and an update on the promotion's plans to host an event at the MSG Sphere in Paradise, Nevada, later in the year.

The 54-year-old fight promoter said the wheels are in motion for a groundbreaking event.

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"[Seeing] U2 is what made me want to do [a UFC event there]," White said on February 7. "They're using this much of the capabilities of the Sphere. I'm using this much."

By "this much," White means the Sphere has the capability for an attendee to sit in their seats and have a non-obstructed view, as the venue holds 20,000. Additionally, White revealed it could be used as multipurpose, meaning various audio feeds, including English, Spanish, and French, would be accessible for a ticket buyer to have their own live experience.

"I'm gonna put on the greatest live sporting event anybody has ever seen," White remarked.

White said he is embracing the challenges of putting on live sports in an arena primarily known for concerts.

"After they did the [U2] show and people started looking at it like, 'Oh, this is cool for concerts, but you can't do live events here,' White said. "I love hearing that."

While nothing has been confirmed outside of White's remarks, the UFC event at the Sphere will likely be the promotion's second installment of "Noche UFC 2" on Mexican Independence Day weekend.

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Published Feb 7, 2024

ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99