The American Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts event has arrived in in Saudi Arabia, marking a key event in the organisation’s 30-plus year history.
A Saturday evening in June saw fans descend on the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, the country’s premier live sports and entertainment venue, for the UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov. While Clair Global has previously provided audio services for UFC globally, this was the first partnership for live audiences in the Middle East. The occasion was led by Phil Campbell and mixed by FOH engineer Andy Banks, who opted for a Yamaha Rivage PM7 console drawn from Clair’s growing Middle East inventory.
To fully service UFC’s live audio requirements, Clair Global Regional Manager, Stu Wright, oversaw the deployment of an in-the-round Cohesion PA. The system, which has been chosen for music tours by major artists including Bad Bunny, Blackpink, The Weeknd and U2, also delivers top tier audio clarity for high end live sports performances.
‘The event is televised for worldwide viewers and the audience reactions are crucial,’ says Clair Global UAE COO, Al Woods. ‘Therefore, the PA needs to be coherent and punchy. Clair has deployed similar sized Cohesion systems in the region for both music and sporting events, but our UFC PA system differed due to the cable infrastructure. The Kingdom Arena has a height of 47m and an external dimension of 220m x 150m, so to keep the cables out of eyeline for the TV broadcast camera shots, the cable lengths and management system were both detailed and extensive.
‘To achieve a clean look, some of the runs were well over 100m in length. As with all Cohesion system deployments, Clair’s proprietary Hi-D cabling system was used. The Hi-D multicore’s non-conventional approach significantly increases damping factor and decreases frequency-dependent signal loss along long runs, which in this case was invaluable.’
Designed by Clair’s Leon Fink, the system comprised two main hangs of 16 Cohesion CO10 boxes to cover the two end stands and ‘pitch’ area, and at approximately 90° to the mains, four flown outhangs consisting of 12 CO8 boxes provided coverage to the arena’s VIP and main stands.
For low-end sub coverage, two hangs of Cohesion CP218 II+ with floor subs beneath the grandstands and two CP118+ were set beneath the Octagon for additional sub impact during the high-octane fight. For front row members of the audience, Clair set eight Cohesion CP6+ of down fill. The system was controlled, tuned, and aligned using Lake LM44 processors and Lab.gruppen PLM Series amplifiers.
Clair also provided RF, in the form of 14 channels of Shure Axient wireless mics with Shure PSM 1000 IEMs.
The arrival of UFC in KSA reinforces the presence of the nation’s growing live production industry. ‘Saudi Arabia is leveraging sports and entertainment as a strategic tool to drive economic diversification, social change, and enhance its international standing, making it a key player on the global sports stage,’ Woods says. ‘UFC has established significant commercial partnerships with Saudi Arabia, and having successfully serviced their live entertainment debut in the country, Clair Global is well-placed to work across more of these major live sporting events in the region.’
More: www.clairglobal.com
