Sean O’Malley Wants to Deny Merab Dvalishvili’s American Dream at UFC 306 With Win at Sphere

September 12, 2024

4 weeks

Merab Dvalishvili honors every aspect of his life when he walks into the UFC octagon. He is one of several fighters who carry a flag representing two countries to the cage. Dvalishvili has the Georgian flag, which represents his native country, and the American flag, which is for his adopted country. Dvalishvili, 33, moved to the United States to chase his dream as a professional mixed martial artist.

He is only one fight away from reaching the pinnacle of the sport. Dvalishvili will challenge Sean O’Malley Saturday night for his bantamweight title in what should be a special event for the UFC. No matter what happens in the main event, the first-ever combat sports card at the Sphere in Las Vegas will test the promotion’s ability to deliver on big promises.

It’s not unlike what bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has promised to deliver against Dvalishvili. O’Malley took the bantamweight title off Dvalishvili’s close friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling.

Dvalishvili once playfully took O’Malley’s jacket and wore it in the octagon during a post-fight scrum. O’Malley is a better striker. Dvalishvili fights with an intense wrestling pace that many opponents can’t handle.

When looking at MMAfighting latest news, this fight seems destined to come down to whether the 5-foot-6 Dvalishvili can close the distance against 5-11 O’Malley. O’Malley has been working on his grappling and should be able to defend his belt.

Bets to consider: Under 4.5 rounds, O’Malley by KO/TKO/DQ

Shevchenko, Grasso Set to Complete Trilogy

This will be the second year Mexican champion Alexa Grasso will attempt to defend her title against Valentina Shevchenko at a UFC Noche event. This fight in the UFC women’s flyweight division is the possible conclusion of a three-fight series that has seen Shevchenko make uncharacteristic mistakes.

During the first fight, Shevchenko attempted a wild spinning attack and got submitted. In the fifth round of the second fight, Shevchenko took a risk and ended up being taken down by Grasso. That mistake led to the fight being scored a split draw.

This should be another close fight. While the MMA latest updates show Grasso is returning from an injury, she has a style that can trouble Shevchenko thanks to her wrestling.

Bets to consider: Fight to go the distance, Shevchenko +114

Lopes, Ortega Will Finally Meet

The best MMA news site shows that Diego Lopes was supposed to have his big moment at UFC 303. But when former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega got sick, Lopes had to fight Dan Ige, who took the fight on hours’ notice instead.

Lopes has proven himself to be an exciting young fighter on the rise. He is an explosive striker who can trouble any opponent. Ortega, 33, isn’t quite over the hill yet but has suffered some injuries that have limited his potential.

Expect this fight to be close. While Lopes could easily win this matchup, it’s hard to pass up Ortega at plus money.

Bets to consider: Fight to not go the distance, Ortega +145

Zellhuber Looks to Keep Pressure On

Daniel Zellhuber made a quick adjustment to the UFC. He had to. He lost his UFC debut after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.

But Zellhuber proved his resolve by bouncing back with three straight wins. Zellhuber, who is 15-1 in his career, will want to keep that up with a win against Esteban Ribovics. Ribovics is coming off the most impactful win of his UFC career.

After being put in the cage with the dangerous Terrance McKinney, Ribovics knocked out the wild man with a head kick 37 seconds into the fight. While Ribovics and Zellhuber are both excellent fighters, I can’t see this one ending via knockout.

Bets to consider: Zellhuber ML, Over 2.5 rounds

Ode’ Osborne Has to Stay Off His Back

If Ode’ Osborne wants to get back into the title picture at flyweight, he has to defend himself better if the fight hits the mat. Osborne has lost his last two fights, according to the best MMA news site, because of his inability to defend submissions.

More alarmingly, Osborne has lost three of his past four fights and will have to face off against Ronaldo Rodriguez. Rodriguez made a successful UFC debut after getting promoted without fighting in the Contender Series, which is rare in this day and age.

Rodriguez has five career wins by submission. While he has yet to fight too many top-level guys, this should be an interesting challenge to see where he is at skills-wise.

Bets to consider: Osborne +114, Fight to end inside the distance

Aldana Will Stop Dumont’s Run

Norma Dumont has made a nice career by grinding out victories over opponents who can’t handle her grappling. But it also means she finds herself involved in having to sweat out the result on the scorecards.

Dumont has won four straight fights, all of which came by unanimous decision. During Dumont’s career, she has seen 10 of her 13 fights go the distance. Her next challenge will be controlling Mexican and former title challenger Irene Aldana.

Aldana is a lanky fighter who can use her length to fight effectively from a distance. She is also a good boxer who should be able to use her strikes to prevent Dumont from taking her down. Aldana did have struggles keeping up with Amanda Nunes’s grappling, but she is a level above Dumont.

Bets to consider: Aldana -110, Aladana by decision

Here are picks for the rest of the fights on the card not listed above: