Inside the Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena
Location: Las Vegas
Seating Capacity: 16,800
The MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday will host its 17th Ultimate Fighting Championship event, as UFC 132 “Cruz vs. Faber 2” descends on Las Vegas. The show, which airs live on pay-per-view at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, will feature the first bantamweight title bout in the promotion’s history, as defending champion Dominick Cruz defends his crown against Urijah Faber, the only man ever to defeat him. Faber submitted Cruz with a guillotine choke the first time the two met in March 2007. The remainder of the main card features a middleweight duel pitting Wanderlei Silva against Chris Leben, a light heavyweight tilt pairing former champion Tito Ortiz with Ryan Bader, a welterweight bout matching Carlos Condit against Dong Hyun Kim and a lightweight fight between Matt Wiman and Dennis Siver.
Modeled after New York’s Madison Square Garden, the arena is no stranger to high-profile combat sports events. On Nov. 5, 1994, George Foreman, then 46, became the oldest boxer in history to become heavyweight champion when he knocked out Michael Moorer in the 10th round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Less than three years later, the venue played host to the now infamous Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson rematch, which ended in the third round when Tyson was disqualified for biting off a chunk of Holyfield’s ear. The MGM Grand, which features 6,852 rooms, was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in 1993. Located on the Las Vegas Strip, its casino is home to a world-famous lion habitat, with live lions on display.
Josh Groban (Aug. 20), Sade (Sept. 3), Def Leppard (Sept. 4) and Jimmy Buffett (Oct. 15 and Oct. 22) will follow the UFC into the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
