Over the weekend, MMA fans the world over were watching a once-in-a-lifetime pay-per-view event from the sport’s top promotion. In the run-up to Noche UFC, also known as UFC 306, CEO Dana White called it “a one-of-one, one-and-done, never done again event.”
This one of a kind UFC show had a hefty price tag along with it: $20 million (USD.) White mentioned afterward that the cost of the production isn’t the reason why Noche UFC at the Las Vegas Sphere won’t happen again.
UFC CEO White Keeps His Word About Sphere Card Being a One-Off
“I’m under contract with [the MGM Grand]”, White said during Saturday night’s post-fight scrum with the media. “I told you guys leading up to this, the way that this whole thing played out, tonight was meant to happen. It happened, we did it, we killed it… I have literally been getting blown up by everybody about this event.”
In addition to the Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the MGM Grand also oversees the T-Mobile Arena, which is the usual “home” venue for Vegas-based events. T-Mobile Arena was occupied by the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga card this past weekend.
David Nussbaum Discusses How Relationship with White Was Forged
One of the noteworthy aspects about Noche UFC from a presentation standpoint was the fact that Proto Hologram created an experience that was truly amazing, including a hologram of Dana White fluently speaking Spanish. In a Monday interview conducted by MMA Sucka’s Jeremy Brand with Proto CEO David Nussbaum, the latter talked about how he initially got in touch with Dana White.
“I run my hologram company out of a pretty sweet production building in Van Nuys, CA,” Nussbaum said. “In the production building, there are podcasts. There are other shows that are being produced there. My good friend and investor and advisor Howie Mandel was running a podcast [Howie Mandel Does Stuff] and Dana White was a guest on this podcast.”
White’s appearance on Howie Mandel Does Stuff ended before it officially began due to him walking out of the recording studio, but his relationship with David Nussbaum was only beginning.
Wheels Set in Motion
“Dana White walks right over to me and says ‘I know what I would do with this technology,'” he recalls. “‘I know a hundred ways to use this technology and I don’t really know what the hell I’m looking at. Explain this to me'”. Upon being shown a demo, Nussbaum received White’s cell phone number.
“He’s a really famous guy and you would think that he would want a little bit more privacy but he said ‘This is a technology that I really want to dig into'”, he said. After exchanging text messages with one another, White referred Nussbaum to his UFC staff.
On Saturday night, the technology came alive at the Sphere for UFC 306, featuring holograms of all fighters booked to appear during the card.
“It was a hit,” Nussbaum said. “I’m excited.”
Nussbaum’s Backed UFC For Years
Long before David Nussbaum got in touch with Dana White, the founder of Proto was a fan of the sport.
“How can you not be [a fan of the UFC?],” he pondered. “First of all, I’m old-school UFC in the sense that I’ve been following it since you’d have a boxer fight a wrestler and then you’d have a Gracie fight a street fighter. I loved pre-Dana, pre-the way the UFC has turned into, I’ve been in love with the Ultimate Fighting Championship for a very, very long time.”
“The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV is one of the greatest reality shows of all-time. Dana White is brilliant because he let us get to know the athletes”, he continued.
Hologram Technology Comes Into Focus for White’s AI Likeness
Upon White leaving the planned episode of Howie Mandel’s podcast, he and Nussbaum remained in contact.
“He plays 4-D chess,” Nussbaum said of White. “He knew what this technology was going to be used for without even knowing what it did, especially with Noche coming up months later and how because this was his love letter to Mexico, we were able to take his hologram, scan him, turn him into an AI [version of himself], and then he was able to speak perfect Spanish.”
A recording of the technology in action exists on Proto’s social channels.
Bar Set High For Sphere in Aftermath of Noche UFC
Noche UFC served as the first sporting event to have ever taken place inside the Sphere. Nussbaum says that last Saturday’s card is going to be a tough act to follow.
“When nobody was looking, I kind of ducked my head inside of the Sphere,” he said. “Holy cow. My first time there. I wanted to see U2, but I didn’t go. I saw Noche, holy cow. I feel bad for every single artist or event that tries to put on a show there from this point moving forward because they went bananas on that place. It was remarkable.
As far as the fights themselves went, both Valentina Shevchenko and Merab Dvalishvili emerged champions in their respective title fights. Saturday night’s effort from all parties involved was a successful one.
