McGregor's heir & historic trilogy - inside UFC's $20m Sphere

The show will be the first sporting event to take place at the Sphere

Dana White was at a U2 concert in Las Vegas last year when the inspiration struck him.

It wasn't U2's show which influenced the UFC president, it was the grandeur of the venue in which they performed.

White was watching the Irish rock band in the brand new Sphere - the largest spherical building in the world with an exterior coated in so many LED screens, its glow can be seen from space.

More screens decorate the inside of the 17,385-seat venue, helping to deliver an immersive experience for fans which left White dreaming of hosting a UFC show in the same vein.

Almost a year later, White's vision has come to fruition with the promotion set to host the "greatest live combat sports show anybody has ever seen", when Riyadh Season Noche UFC takes place on Saturday.

The show, described as a "love letter to Mexico" by White to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, sees American bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley defend his title against Georgia's Merab Dvalishvili in the main event.

The co-main event features Mexico's Alexa Grasso, who defends her flyweight belt against Kyrgyzstan's Valentina Shevchenko in the first women's trilogy fight in UFC history.

Two mouth-watering contests, but will the fights be the main attraction of the evening?

'The Sphere is the star of the show'

The UFC has spent $20m (£15.3m) to host the event, with White describing it as a "one and done, once in a lifetime experience".

Inside the Sphere are a further 160,000 square feet of LED screens which will show a movie during the event, split into chapters, that "pays tribute to Mexican people for their extraordinary contributions to combat sports".

"We call them worlds and each fight will live inside this world," said White.

"And the world will evolve as the fight is going on but it will be very subtle. Clouds will move, fires will burn, birds will fly, whatever."

"If you're Mexican this will be like a Rocky movie for you guys."

White says the UFC faced a number of logistical issues in preparing for the event, but the biggest challenge was usurping the Sphere.

"When I was at the Sphere watching the U2 show, you realise the Sphere is the star of the show," added White.

"So our biggest challenge, other than lighting, was 'how do you make the Sphere the star of the show, but not during the fights'?"

The show, previously called UFC 306, marks the first time the organisation has partnered with a sponsor, with the event being rebranded to Riyadh Season Noche UFC.

It is the latest high-profile sporting event to feature Saudi Arabian marketing, with the Kingdom spending billions on boxing, football, golf, snooker and more.

But the country continues to face criticism for using sport to divert attention away from its poor human rights record - a process known as sportswashing.

'O'Malley has what McGregor has'

O'Malley has won 10 UFC fights since his debut in the promotion in 2017

Despite the growth of MMA, no-one is yet to achieve the level of recognition outside the sport as former double UFC champion Conor McGregor.

O'Malley has drawn comparisons to the Irishman because of his confidence and exciting knockout power, and there are signs the UFC see the 29-year-old as the heir to McGregor's throne when it comes to star power.

When O'Malley beat Aljamain Sterling for the title last year, the promotion shared the knockout on social media to a worldwide audience - something it rarely does due to rights deals with various broadcasters.

Now the organisation has selected O'Malley as the face of its ambitious Sphere show.

"When you talk about Conor's personality, the thing he always did was deliver on the big fights, every single time," said White.

"In this sport when you have what Sean O'Malley has, and you can go out and win the big fights... and O'Malley is a smart kid like Conor too, he just gets it."

O'Malley says UFC Noche could provide the springboard to becoming the UFC's biggest star - if McGregor loses his next fight.

The 36-year-old is due to face American Michael Chandler but a date is yet to be set after McGregor pulled out of their June bout with injury.

"I think I’m very close. I think Conor has one big fight left in him, but there's a big question mark – can he come back and beat Michael Chandler?" said O'Malley.

"If he loses, I would assume I'm there, I'm the guy, I'm the number one."

'We're not friends but we're professional'

The co-main event sees Grasso renew her now historic rivalry with Shevchenko.

Grasso, 31, stunned Shevchenko last March, ending the 36-year-old's run of seven straight flyweight title defences.

The pair fought in a rematch last September with Grasso retaining her belt in a draw, before they faced off as opposing coaches on the reality TV show the Ultimate Fighter earlier this year.

"We shared a lot of time in there. No, we're not friends, but we're super professional and that's super important for me,” said Grasso.

"I've been watching her fighting since I was young and it's just something really cool to be able to be at this level with someone when I've been watching her career for so long.

"The first fight was amazing. Second was amazing too, and I can expect no less from the third one."