Las Vegas played host to not one, but two major fights September 14, 2024. At T-Mobile Arena, Canelo Alvarez defeated Edgar Berlanga. And on the north end of the Strip, UFC became the first franchise to hold a live sporting event at Sphere. 

“Everybody said it couldn’t be done, and those are the kinds of things that I love. I love when people say something can’t be done.”

That’s Dana White, speaking to Nevada Week from the UFC Headquarters ahead of UFC 306, or “Noche UFC” as this fight was called. White said one of his major goals, along with creating a stunning technical and visual event, was to celebrate Mexican heritage for Mexican Independence Day.

“When you look at their heritage, their culture, there’s lots of things I love about the Mexican people. How proud they are to be Mexican, how proud they are of where they came from. How hard they work, they’re known as hard workers. They’re known as a certain type of fighter, move forward, never quit.”

When asked about the competition with the Canelo fight, White says boxing promoter Al Haymon booked T-Mobile Arena first. “Props to him, he slid in and stole my date at MGM,” White said. But he was undeterred on getting his own fight night September 14. “I believe everything happens for a reason. If that doesn’t happen and things don’t line up the way they did, I’m not at the Sphere, I’m not first, and a lot of other things. So this was meant to be.”

“Combat sports are important for Las Vegas. Combat sports are kind of part of a fabric of sports in Las Vegas,” LVSportsBiz.com journalist Cassandra Cousineau told Nevada Week. “I think without boxing specifically, we don’t have these arenas… we don’t have the sports tourism in this city.”  

When asked about the economic impact for Las Vegas when it comes to boxing, Cousineau said the Nevada State Athletic Commission will ultimately confirm the gate for the Canelo/Berlanga fight. 

“Canelo’s averaging anywhere between $18 million and $20 million for his fights in Las Vegas.  Now he did fight Edgar Berlanga and he did go head to head with UFC. But it was still a sell-out. So I expect it to be somewhere in that range.” 

In comparison, White reports the gate for UFC 306 was $22 million. He told Nevada Week the event at Sphere cost $20 million to produce. 

Was there a winner between these two major fighting events? 

“Fans, I think the fans won,” Cousineau said. “Canelo is the face of boxing, not just in the United States, but internationally he’s the most recognized fighter in the world. And I also think what the UFC was able to do with the Sphere was something we’ve never ever seen before.”

“It was kind of like you went to Disneyland and they dropped an octagon in the middle of the whole thing. And so I think it was a spectacular night for Las Vegas, especially hotel occupancy was a winner there. I think tourism was a winner as well… I think the winners were fans and ultimately the City of Las Vegas.”