On Friday morning, UFC CEO Dana White put out an announcement to say he had an announcement to make in an hour. When he made that announcement, it turned out to be announcing another announcement. White said on an Instagram live broadcast that he'd announce the full card for Noche UFC, which is Sept. 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas, during the UFC 304 broadcast on Saturday.
Several hours later, though, White must have changed his mind, and announced on social media the full card for Noche UFC. He said bantamweight champion 'Suga' Sean O'Malley would defend his title in the main event against No. 1 Merab Dvalishvili. The co-main event will feature Alexa Grasso defending her flyweight title against former champion Valentina Shevchenko.
The card will be held on Mexican Independence Day Weekend, which for the last two decades has largely been a weekend for boxing in Las Vegas. While there wasn't a boxing card in Las Vegas in 2023, the UFC will have competition for Noche UFC because super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez will defend his title against Edgar Berlanga at T-Mobile Arena.
The UFC has an exclusive contract with MGM Resorts, which has an ownership stake in T-Mobile, for its events in Las Vegas. White received permission to host Noche UFC at The Sphere, which is owned by Madison Square Garden, from MGM Resorts.
White said The Sphere will seat over 17,000 people for Noche UFC.
#NocheUFC from @SphereVegas on September 14th!!!! Fight Club Pre sale Monday. pic.twitter.com/jABnXWAUPw
— UFC (@ufc) July 26, 2024
White said following UFC 303 in Las Vegas last month that he'd already spent $17 million on putting together the card at The Sphere. He's repeatedly referred to it as "a love letter to the Mexicans." The UFC has been working feverishly to build MMA in Mexico.
White said on the morning of June 29, the date of UFC 303, the UFC's board of directors flew to Las Vegas so White could walk them through the event and explain where the money was going.
“My board of directors and a bunch of other people flew in because they wanted to see where all this money was going,” White said. “I walked everyone through what’s going to be happening and they were blown away. Everyone is so pumped about this thing. It’s going to be the most incredible thing anyone has ever seen in sports.”
The UFC card will be the first live sporting event at The Sphere, which opened at a cost of $2.3 billion in 2023 with a concert by U2. The NHL held its draft at The Sphere but White said the production value he's planning will blow that away.
“What they did will be like kids playing with crayons compared to what we’re going to do,” White said. “Literally, kids playing with crayons.”
The full card, as announced Friday by White:
Sean O'Malley versus Merab Dvalishvili, five rounds for the UFC bantamweight title.
Alexa Grasso versus Valentina Shevchenko, five rounds for the UFC women's flyweight title.
Brian Ortega versus Diego Lopes, three rounds, featherweights.
Daniel Zellhuber versus Esteban Ribovics, three rounds, lightweights.
Ode Osbourne versus Ronald Rodriguez, three rounds, flyweights.
Norma Dumont versus Irene Aldana, three rounds, bantamweights.
Manuel Torres versus Igancio Bahamondes, three rounds, lightweights
Yazmin Jauregui versus Ketlen Souza, three rounds, strawweights.
Kevin Borjas versus Edgar Chairez, three rounds, flyweights.
Raul Rosas Jr. versus Aori Qileng, three rounds, bantamweights.