UFC 306 arrived at The Sphere on Saturday, and certainly left a lasting impression.
Out of the gate, the visual show was a tad underwhelming — until the main card arrived, with a stunning video package playing out before each fight, showing the full depth the cutting edge venue has to offer.
The quality of the fights, meanwhile, was never in question, at least until the night’s two title fights. But it was the preliminary card that set the tone, producing an impressive finish for strawweight and former Invicta FC champ Ketlen Souza, who knocked down then choked Yazmin Yuaregui into submission in one of the night’s many upsets.
That finish earned one of two Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC 306, otherwise known as Noche UFC. The other $50,000 Performance bonus was awarded to Ignacio Bahamondes, who steamrolled Manuel Torres just one fight later.
UFC President and CEO Dana White announced the bonuses during the night’s post-fight press conference, with Cageside Press in attendance. He would later express interest in taking Bahamondes, who has turned into a budding star for the promotion, to his native Chile for an event.
Fight of the Night at UFC 306 went to Esteban Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber. For two rounds, the lightweight pair put on an admirable display of precise technical striking, in a very evenly matched contest. All that went out the window in the third, which devolved into a wild brawl that saw both fighters hurt, and Zellhuber come close to being finished. That paved the way for a Ribovics victory.
UFC 306 at The Sphere boasted attendance of 16,024 for a gate of $22 million. Per White, it sits as the highest grossing UFC event, highest grossing event at The Sphere to date, with the card also breaking the UFC’s merch sales record.
