O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili Headlines UFC 306 At The Sphere
Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili will headline UFC 306 at The Sphere on September 14.
O’Malley will defend his UFC Bantamweight Title, which he picked up after stopping Aljamain Sterling in the second round at UFC 292. He made a successful defense of the belt, beating Marlon Vera at UFC 299 to right the wrong of the only loss of his UFC career. Dvalishvili enters into the fight as the number-one-ranked contender.
O’Malley Vs. Merab
He has ten wins on the bounce, winning over Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo in his last fight at UFC 298. Dana White has reportedly put at least $17 million into the event, as it is the first-ever combat sports event in the arena in Las Vegas. The UFC’s close relationship with the Saudis means the event is known as Riyadh Season Noche UFC.
In chief support, Alexa Grasso will take on Valentina Shevchenko in their trilogy for the UFC Flyweight Title. Grasso caused an upset by beating Shevchenko via a fourth-round submission at UFC 285. The rematch occurred at UFC Noche last year, ending in a controversial split draw.
Mike Bell’s scorecard of 10-8 in the final round for Grasso meant that Alexa retained her belt despite many believing Shevchenko had won. Both suffered injuries, which delayed the rematch. But now both fighters will have the chance to run things back. Elsewhere, Brian Ortega faces Diego Lopes in a featherweight bout. Meanwhile, Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics and Ode Osbourne vs. Ronaldo Rodriguez have also been confirmed.
White Reacts
“Diego Lopes is taking a massive step up and facing No.3 ranked Brian Ortega. These two were supposed to fight in the co-main event of UFC 303 but the bout was moved to this card after Ortega became ill. These guys love to trade even though both have unbelievable jiu-jitsu. They both will fight anybody, anywhere, anytime. I can guarantee that this fight is going to be incredible,” White said
The event will go head-to-head with Canelo Alvarez’s boxing fight with Edgar Berlanga. Alvarez will defend these three belts at super middleweight after being stripped of the IBF, meaning he is no longer undisputed. The audience will become divided, with more eyes likely to be on the UFC. Canelo had the opportunity to set up a massive fight on Mexican Independence Day against David Benavidez. The failure to do so resulted in massive criticism from fans, White/Saudis, who questioned their decision to take that date.
“Canelo’s one of those guys that I respect and hey, good on [PBC’s Al] Haymon. Haymon snatched that date right away from me. The guys at MGM have done nothing but f—ing disrespect me and the UFC for 20 years. It is what it is. Here we go. This is going to be an incredible tribute to the Mexican people for their extraordinary contributions to combat sports,” White stated
Full Card
Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes
Esteban Ribovics vs. Daniel Zellhuber
Ode Osbourne vs. Ronaldo Rodríguez
Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
Kevin Borjas vs. Edgar Chairez
Yazmin Jáuregui vs. Ketlen Souza
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aori Qileng
