Before Las Vegas’ Major League Team Hype There Was UFC, Which Celebrates 30 Years Of Cage Fights, PPV Deals, High Drama With International Week; UFC 290 Has $9.75 Million Gate; 19,204 Attendance

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By Cassandra Cousineau, LVSportsBiz.com UFC-MMA Writer

There isn’t a city in America experiencing the kind of intense growth in sports industry development quite like Las Vegas.

One day, the Nevada Legislature approves a $380 million Oakland Athletics stadium subsidy deal for the Strip. Another day there’s an arena developer saying he has a $10 billion hotel/casino project that will include an NBA venue on Las Vegas Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road.

There are F1 race and Super Bowl events planned for November and February here in Las Vegas.

But before all this big league sports talk was the homegrown Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Las Vegas-based UFC, headquartered at a prominent campus off the 215 beltway in the southwest valley, is celebrating its 30th year of cage fights, PPV deals and high-level drama.

And this week UFC fight fans once again pounded the triple-digit degree conditions to mark International Fight Week, an event started more than a decade ago in the Fight Capital of the World.

The week culminates with championship fights with UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena tonight.

It’s been more than a decade since the annual event landed a wake-up shot to the chin of a young Las Vegas sports economy. UFC and LVCVA announced a partnership to put on a five-day annual event including everything from a free concert evening on Fremont Street to a poolside press conference at XS Nightclub inside at the swanky Wynn Hotel Resort.

At the time, UFC hosted six annual events in Las Vegas once Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta purchased the then barely afloat promotion in 2001.

LVSportsBiz founder Alan Snel was among the first journalists to report total spending per UFC visitor during that fight week was $3,049. The figure was about three times the $1,022 per visitor for all tourists. In total, 46,000 visitors traveled to Las Vegas UFC and generated $146.4 million in spending during that inaugural fight week according to the UFC economic impact report prepared by Applied Analytics, a public policy and economic research company in Las Vegas.

It’s International Fight Week, but really every week is an international fight week for UFC.

With a global footprint, the promotion constantly features athletes from every area of the globe where UFC has provided a measurable boost to local economies. International Fight Week can be held just about anywhere with a sports commission. 

When LVSportsBiz asked UFC President, Dana White why Las Vegas, why does he continue to hold this event in this city? “Where else should I do it?” White quipped at this week’s UFC 290 public press conference. 

“Vegas is an incredible destination. Everybody wants to come here. There’s tons of things to do. Tons of restaurants, plenty of hotel rooms, unbelievable shopping!” White proclaimed to the rowdy MMA crowd.

“Why would I not do it in Vegas!” Since 2016, White’s MMA promotion has been a tentpole event in Southern Nevada. Saturday’s UFC 290 inside T-Mobile Arena will mark the 217th UFC event from Las Vegas and the 25th fight show for the promotion from T-Mobile Arena.

The promotion’s partnership with T-Mobile Arena began in 2016. However, as a company, it’s been a mainstay in Las Vegas. In some ways, 30 years later the fighting league is the original Vegas Born sport. 

This week, the Nevada State Athletic Commission granted UFC five new permits to hold cards in Las Vegas in 2023. The events range from September to December, with three at the UFC Apex and two at T-Mobile Arena. In total, the promotion held 21 events in Las Vegas. 

UFC generated $1.140 billion in revenue in 2022. This is the highest revenue the company has ever reported for a year. Over 20 events were held in Las Vegas last year.

The promotion has come a long way from the days of Chuck Liddell, who told LVSportsBiz this week his first UFC contract offer was for three fights. If he won all three, he would’ve earned a total of $12,000. “Dana who was my manager at the time, turned it down.” 

Saturday’s UFC 290 is headlined by two title fights. Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez collide to unify the featherweight title and UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno seeks revenge in his third attempt to beat Alexandre Pantoja.

Here’s how to watch:

Date: Saturday, July 8, 2023

Prelims time: 8 p.m. ET

Main card time: 10 p.m. ET

Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV

TV: PPV

Streaming: ESPN+