MGM Grand Garden Arena, the
Thomas & Mack Center and the
Mandalay Bay Events Center were the main sports arenas in the
Las Vegas Valley until 2016, when the MGM co-owned
T-Mobile Arena opened.
Professional wrestling From 1996 to 2000, it hosted
World Championship Wrestling's
Halloween Havoc events. The
UWF television event
Blackjack Brawl was held at the venue in 1994. On May 25, 2019, it hosted
All Elite Wrestling's inaugural event,
Double or Nothing (2019). Tickets for the event sold out in four minutes. It was originally scheduled to host
Double or Nothing (2020) on May 23, 2020, and the May 27 episode of
AEW Dynamite, but was moved due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. It hosted
Money in the Bank on July 2, 2022, which was originally scheduled to be held at the larger
Allegiant Stadium. This marked the first
WWE pay-per-view to have taken place at the arena.
Combat sports The arena is well known for numerous
professional boxing superfights, such as
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana and
II,
Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman,
Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley III,
Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez IV,
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Álvarez,
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao,
Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II,
Canelo Álvarez vs. Caleb Plant and
Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley II. On September 7, 1996, the
Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson bout was held here; later that night, rapper
Tupac Shakur (who attended the fight)
was shot in a drive-by attack. He succumbed to his injuries six days later. The arena held 42
Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts events, starting with
UFC 34 in 2001 and ending with
The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale in 2016. UFC currently uses the T-Mobile Arena for major events. On May 2, 2015,
Floyd Mayweather Jr. defended his
WBA (Unified),
WBC, and
The Ring world welterweight titles
in a highly anticipated unification fight against fellow superstar
Manny Pacquiao, who defended the
WBO and
IBO world welterweight titles. After 12 rounds, Mayweather won by unanimous decision, becoming the unified welterweight champion of the world.
Professional sports In 1994, the
Las Vegas Dustdevils, an
indoor soccer team in the
Continental Indoor Soccer League played one season at the arena. It also served as the pre-season home for select
Los Angeles Kings games against the
Colorado Avalanche,
Phoenix Coyotes and
San Jose Sharks until 2015, known as
Frozen Fury. Two more games occurred at the new T-Mobile Arena before the launch of the NHL's newest team, the
Vegas Golden Knights, who went on to play in the
NHL's
Stanley Cup Playoffs within their first season. On October 24, 2014, it held an NBA preseason game between the
Los Angeles Lakers and the
Sacramento Kings. They returned for another match on October 13, 2015.
College sports During the 1990s, the arena served as the site for the
WAC women's volleyball tournament. On March 13, 2012, it was announced that the
Pac-12 men's basketball tournament would take place at the arena from at least 2013 through 2016 and then to T-Mobile Arena in 2017 until 2020. From 2014 to 2017, the MGM Grand Garden Arena hosted the
Roman Main Event, then called The MGM Resorts Main Event, an 8-team
college basketball tournament held during Monday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week of NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Starting in
2025, the arena will host eight First Round and four Quarterfinal games of the
College Basketball Crown.
Bull riding The
Professional Bull Riders (PBR) held its annual World Finals event at the MGM Arena from 1994 to 1998 before moving to the Thomas & Mack Center in 1999 and then to T-Mobile Arena in 2016. The PBR later returned on June 11 and 12, 2021 for an
Unleash the Beast Series event in its first visit to the MGM Arena since 1998. ==Award shows==