The hours leading up to UFC 311, the first PPV of 2025 for the world’s premier mixed martial arts league, stole the spotlight from everything else. The back injury, while dropping his last few pounds, to Arman Tsarukyan cut short the first big fight of the new year.Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champion, will headline against Renato Moicano, a last-minute replacement. And what was going to be a party, sadly, in the ultra-modern Intuit Dome changes its tone. The octagon will be the one to say whether the show changes or if it will still be a night to remember.
As a wrapper, the night will be unbeatable. UFC 311 will be the landing, finally, at the Intuit Dome. And that is a spectacle in itself. If after the summer of 2024 the company premiered the Las Vegas Sphere on Mexican night, the new Californian pavilion is not far behind. It is less groundbreaking, but it is probably the best representative of the stadiums of the future. It has everything and aims to host the best events on the planet. Olympic Games, All-Star Games, concerts…
The home of the Clippers in the NBA is set to radically change the game. It cost around $2 billion and is headlined by an incredible double-sided digital screen called the ‘Halo Board’. Its extension includes five basketball courts, a swimming pool, a plaza with bars, restaurants and shops. And those who can go will not have to worry about many things, as there is a charger in every seat in the venue and 1,400 toilets. No one will have to queue here. Nor for drinking and eating, as there is a system to offer food without having to wait.
In addition, it will have eyes on it as the first major event in Los Angeles after the terrible fires that hit the heart of the city. The UFC considered changing venues and moving to its usual T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but the show went on in Los Angeles. There was a lot at stake, although without Tsarukyan there will be less expectation. Number 1, Islam Makhachev, is the overwhelming favorite in a new defense of his world championship belt.
For the Intuit Dome, there will also be another fight. The fight to excite the fans. The Las Vegas Sphere changed the game and between each fight a kind of movie was projected that drove the fans crazy. If Los Angeles wants to live up to that, it will have to go big at UFC 311. Time will tell