Dana White Says Tom Brady Played Role in Choosing to Hold UFC 306 at Vegas' Sphere

UFC's debut at the Sphere in Las Vegas came about when Dana White and Tom Brady attended a U2 concert at the event space.

Appearing on FS1's TMZ Sports TV Show (starts at 2:24 mark), White credited Brady with inviting him to the concert as being the reason UFC 306 will take part at the new entertainment venue in Vegas.

The Sphere opened in September 2023 with a U2 concert. The legendary rock band had a 40-show residency at the venue that wrapped up on March 2.

UFC 306 will be the promotion's first Las Vegas-based event not held at UFC Apex or T-Mobile Arena since March 2023 when a Fight Night show headlined by Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan took place at the Theater at Virgin Hotels.

White previously said UFC's appearance at the Sphere "will be a one and done" because of the extreme cost to run the venue. He did amend that slightly by telling TMZ that UFC has a contract with MGM, which is a part owner of T-Mobile Arena.

In a recent interview with Sportico's Jacob Feldman, White said UFC has spent $20 million to run the Sphere after initially budgeting for $8 million.

Saturday's event will be headlined by two championship matches. Dvalishvili will challenge Sean O'Malley for the bantamweight title and Alexa Grasso will defend the women's flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko.

UFC 306 will be the second sporting event held inside the Sphere after the 2024 NHL draft.

Brady and White have built a friendship over the years. The UFC president even took part in the Netflix roast of the seven-time Super Bowl champion.