There’s a blockbuster main event set for UFC 306 as Sean O’Malley defends his bantamweight title against Dvalishvili on Saturday, and the promotions debut at the Sphere is promising to take fight fans closer to the action than ever before. Here’s how.
Being held on Saturday, September 14 and paying tribute to Mexican Independence Day, the UFC will present this event under the “Noche (a Latin word that means ‘fight’) UFC” banner, and is sponsored by Riyadh Season in partnership with Saudi Arbia’s General Entertainment Authority. The action will take place at the new $2.3 billion development known as Sphere and was inspired after Dana White attended a U2 concert at the venue. So, what should fight fans expect? Well, according to a press release distributed by the biggest MMA company in the world, this is going to be epic.
UFC
For the first time ever, fans will get closer to the action than ever with haptic seats providing “force feedback” based on the action in the Octagon. Additionally, UFC 306 will be the first time that fans in attendance can listen to live audio for the whole event in English or Spanish. The event will also feature the premiere of the movie
“For Mexico, For All Time”. The film will be split into six 90-second chapters, woven into the event presentation as each chapter focuses on a different period in Mexican history and its influence on the makeup of Mexican identity. “So, each chapter starts before the next fight,” explained White in the UFC 306 press conference. So, there will be a show-open, right? Then the first movie (part) will run, and it will end at the end of the fight. And then, we call them worlds. And the fight will live inside this world. And the world will evolve while the fights are going on, but it will be very subtle. Clouds will move, fires will burn, birds will fly or whatever the hell’s going on in that world, in that time, and it will slowly evolve during the fight.”
Follow all that? You might need to watch UFC 306 it to get the full effect!
Headlining the event, fans will see the highly anticipated bantamweight title clash, as reigning champion Sean O’ Malley aims to both retain his title and continue his seven-fight unbeaten streak against the current No. 1 ranked Merab Dvalishvili. Also slated for action is the conclusion of the women’s flyweight trilogy. Alexia Grasso, the No. 1 UFC women’s pound-for-pound fighter, the first ever female UFC champion from Mexico, will take on Valentina Shevchenko who is a former champion and holder of the most consecutive title defenses ever in a UFC women’s division (7 for those keeping count).
There are also set to be hidden UFC related ‘Easter Eggs’ during those movie installments. “We’re working it out with legal right now, but what I want to do: If someone can find all the Easter eggs, Ill give them $25,000 dollars,” said White.
