UFC 306 at The Sphere: MSG Entertainment's Joel Fisher Goes Inside the Venue's First Live Sports Event Next-gen technology will be deployed to create a different kind of live-event experience By Jason Dachman
Thursday, September 12, 2024 - 3:24 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
On Saturday night, a new era in live sports television will dawn with the first-ever live sports event to be hosted at The Sphere in Las Vegas. UFC 306: Noche UFC is being dubbed a once-in-a-lifetime immersive sporting event that will deploy Sphere's next-gen tech to create an entirely different kind of live-event experience. Following more than a year of planning and collaboration between the UFC and the venue's owner, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, Saturday night's event will finally bring the power of The Sphere to sports events.
MSG Entertainment's Joel Fisher: This combination of entertainment and the sporting event itself is harnessing the enormous power of technology and creating this transformative environment.
UFC President/CEO Dana White, who says the event cost $20 million to produce, calls UFC 306 a love letter to Mexico and a tribute to the Mexican people for their contributions to combat sports. In celebration of Mexican Independence Day, UFC has created a series of films that will take over the 160,000-sq.-ft., 16Kx16K-resolution interior display plane during the event. In addition to the world's highest-resolution LED display and advanced concert-grade audio system, fans inside The Sphere will be able to actually feel the action, thanks to the venue's haptic seats, which provide force feedback based on the action in the Octagon. In addition, the Exosphere will be used throughout the night with key art and highlights to bring fans closer to the event, while in-house stats and information feeds integrate real-time stats and fighter information on the interior display plane of Sphere.
In anticipation of this historic production, SVG sat down with Joel Fisher, EVP, marquee events and operations, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, to discuss how UFC came to be the first sport to take place in The Sphere, his company's collaborative relationship with White and the UFC, what fans can expect inside - and outside - the venue on Saturday night, the key differences between presenting a U2 concert experience and a sports event at The Sphere, and what other sports he expects to welcome to the venue in the future.
How did the initial idea for this event came about?
We [at Madison Square Garden] have a long history with the UFC, including helping them get sanctioned for the first event in New York with UFC 205. We invited Dana [White] to see U2 at The Sphere, and he was absolutely blown away. He called me the next day to say UFC wanted to be the first live sporting event in The Sphere. That was the beginning of months of conversations and planning.
Once the event was finalized, what did the early planning stages look like?
We all agreed that, if we were going to do this and do it right, we needed to plan well in advance and have a unified vision of what this was going to look like. About a year ago, I met with Craig Borsari [chief content officer/executive producer] and Pete Dropick [EVP, event development and operations] during a Top Rank boxing event at [Madison Square] Garden, and we worked closely together from that point forward to ensure that everything was perfect.
The Sphere was a vision directly from our Chairman/CEO Jim Dolan. He wanted to create this new medium that disrupted the traditional venue model and shook up an industry that hasn't been innovated in a long time. To be able to deliver the first live sporting event and broadcast it to the world - there will be as many as a billion people watching - is very exciting for both us and UFC.
What will the experience be like for fans on Saturday night?
The experience starts before you've even entered [the venue] because we have the exosphere, which creates a one-of-a-kind visual experience. Once you get into the building, fans will be able to explore and interact with immersive-technology experiences in the Atrium. The UFC is taking over the entire Atrium and decorating it around the theme of Mexican Independence Day. The second you walk in, you'll feel that you're immersed in this special event, including a mariachi band and a variety of content on the different displays.
We also have plenty of exciting moments leading up to the fight. On Thursday, we are doing the press conference right outside in one of the parking lots with The Sphere as the background. On Friday, they will do the weigh-in outside in front of The Sphere with UFC creative [content] on the exosphere. UFC is also doing a fan fest starting on Friday and running through the pre-fight preparations on Saturday.
On fight night, fans are going to experience something that literally has never been seen before in sports. We've worked with UFC on six films that will be [displayed] on our incredible 16K media plane. These interstitials will be seen throughout the night between the fights and will provide a tribute to Mexico and their history and fighting in MMA. It should be incredible. I've been fortunate to see a lot of the storyboards and content that they're presenting, and it's going to be a genuine spectacle.
We also have an audio system that is unlike anything else you've ever heard, as well as haptic seats so that [fans] will actually feel it when somebody gets hit or hits the canvas. People inside the building are going to get this overall experience that you simply cannot match in a regular venue.
What are the major differences between presenting a concert or entertainment event at The Sphere and producing a sports event? What are the primary factors you have to co
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
UFC 306 at The Sphere: MSG Entertainment's Joel Fisher Goes Inside the Venue's First Live Sports Event Next-gen technology will be deployed to create a different kind of live-event experience By Jason Dachman 
