The UFC have been told that they lost out on a major gamble as their most ambitious show to date flattered to deceive on Saturday night.
Both the main and co-main events of UFC 306 ended in disappointing decision wins for challengers Merab Dvalishvili and Valentina Shevchenko. And former heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub believes that the promotion should have invested more in the fights than the show itself.
Promoter Dana White is believed to have spent over $20million putting together the massive showcase at The Sphere. And while fans in the venue marvelled at the visuals, Schaub watching the pay-per-view was disappointed with what he saw.
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Brendan Schaub claims UFC 306 main events were a ‘gamble that lost’
On Saturday night, there was a reasonable amount of hype for the major fights on the card, particularly given the fan favorite styles of Sean O’Malley and Alexa Grasso. But both champions were neutralized, and with just two stoppages on the undercard it was an underwhelming night in the cage.
“My issue is that the product I paid to watch was not great because it wasn’t a pay-per-view-worthy card,” Schaub explained during a recent episode of his Thiccc Boy podcast. “The bell of the ball is The Sphere.
“Therefore, what you’re paying for, unless you’re in person, ain’t that great, dude. And the main event and the co-main event… Boy, did the UFC gamble, and they lost.”
Brendan Schaub insists he and other viewers were unsatisfied with UFC 306
Schaub’s main issue was with the relative weakness of the card, which ended up being headlined by two title fights that left a lot to be desired for fans watching on pay-per-view. The show itself was believed to be a fantastic experience for those in attendance, but many have raised issues with the broadcast.
The former heavyweight contender believes that the experience was similar to going to a themed restaurant, where the experience matters more than the actual product being sold. “You know what this is? The Sphere. It’s like the Rainforest Cafe.
“It looks f**ing great, but the product was s***… UFC doing events at The Sphere is like the Rainforest Cafe: it looks great, a fun experience, but the actual product sucks. I would rather eat in a f***ing hut with good food; I would rather watch great fights at the Apex Center; I don’t need all that.
“Shoutout to Rainforest Cafe, I used to love that place as a kid, but my mom used to say ‘okay, but you know you’re going to leave unsatisfied’. And that’s how I felt at The Sphere, I left unsatisfied because you guys want to spend all the money on the f***ing frog hanging from the ceiling, the mist.”