The facility opened as the Mandalay Bay Events Center on April 10, 1999, with a performance by opera singer Luciano Pavarotti,[3] appearing in his first Las Vegas concert since 1985.

[5] The venue was originally planned to include 8,000 seats, but boxing promoter Bob Arum convinced Mandalay Resort Group to increase this to 12,000.

[11] UFC cards in Vegas have since moved to T-Mobile Arena as part of a comprehensive marketing and tenancy agreement.

The first National Basketball Association game on the Las Vegas Strip since 1981 was at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on October 6, 2012, a preseason contest between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers.

[13][14] During the 2021–22 NBA G League season, the Michelob Ultra Arena would serve as one of the temporary home arenas for the Capitanes de Ciudad de México during their inaugural season at the NBA G League despite also being temporarily stationed at Fort Worth, Texas at the time due to the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[17] In 2021, Michelob Ultra Arena hosted a training camp for USA Basketball prior to their departure for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

[19] The 2016 Spring North American League of Legends Championship Series Finals were hosted at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on April 16 and 17, 2016.

From 2016 to 2023, the Evolution Championship Series fighting game tournament has held its final day of competition at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

On August 23, 2010, the arena served as the venue for Miss Universe 2010 where at the conclusion of the event Ximena Navarrete of Mexico was crowned as the winner.

[21] British heavy metal band Iron Maiden are slated to perform their The Future Past World Tour on October 5, 2024.

[23] Footage of a boxing match between Oscar De La Hoya and Oba Carr, taking place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, was used in the 1999 film Play It to the Bone.