Perhaps the only thing that outshone last-minute ticket prices for the first live sporting event at Sphere on Saturday night were the expectations of those in attendance at the world’s most technically advanced venue.

UFC president Dana White did nothing to quiet the hype. He went on a frantic media tour last month, promising anyone with a microphone or camera to bring the biggest spectacle in sports history.

Seriously, he’s already predicted Emmy, Grammy and Oscar nominations for the production. White even joked this week that he was trying to figure out how to pull off the event to qualify for a Tony.

There was no way UFC 306 could deliver on the promises made.

But somehow it did.

From the moment the show really got underway with the start of the pay-per-view portion of the match, the live audience at Sphere was taken on a wild ride that combined sports and entertainment on a level perhaps never seen before.

And probably never again.

It was certainly a different experience than commentator and comedian Joe Rogan’s first UFC event, which took place at the 3,100-seat Dothan Civic Center in Alabama. Or one of my first events, which was at Cox Pavilion.

It didn’t even feel like the same sport.

The integration of all the futuristic visual and audio capabilities that are only available with Sphere created the kind of experience that attendees will never forget. But it also left many wondering what on earth was coming next.

White has indicated that returning to Sphere is not high on his list of priorities, especially after the budgets for the film’s production far exceeded expectations.

For a team sport like basketball or hockey this doesn’t make sense, and it’s questionable whether the format would work at all.

Success

It took the UFC nearly a year of planning, assembling an all-star production team and more than $20 million to make this happen.

Would any promoter of boxing or any other similar sport want to do something about this and risk looking ridiculous and amateurish compared to the show the UFC put on Saturday night?

Success.

It was so remarkable, from the six-part cinematic that played between fights, to the original soundtrack, to the intense graphics and sound that kept people engaged even during the downtime between fights. Maybe even more so.

The reveal of each new graphic or video element brought a new wave of oohs and aahs that echoed through the arena, and that’s without even mentioning the haptic seats that let fans feel the action inside the cage.

Even during the match, the screen was part of the show, as each fight took place in a different world.

That was perhaps the biggest problem. The venue and production became the stars of the night. That ensures fans get their money’s worth, but it’s still a sporting event and the fighters deserve to be in the spotlight.

But don’t expect anyone in the room to complain about that. They were too impressed.

Floating chicken wings

It didn’t take long before I knew in the evening that things were going that way.

Fans and media were warned in advance that the vast majority of the show’s graphic and video components would not really begin until the pay-per-view fights, so the preliminary card would be fairly standard.

The first clue as to how the evening would unfold came when an advertisement for a popular chicken restaurant was played after the first preliminary round.

As the boneless wings seemingly floated through the air toward the audience, there was an audible gasp of awe. It wasn’t because the wings looked so good.

The show got much, much better from that point on. Really, much better.

Of course, there can be some whining.

Like how there was no Mexican fighter in the main event of a card that was billed as a love letter to Mexican culture and fighting spirit? Or the somewhat disturbing acceptance of Riyadh Season as title sponsor when costs were spiraling out of control.

But it’s hard to view the UFC’s first attempt at Sphere as anything other than an overwhelming success.

Even though we never experience anything like this again.

Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.