UFC 306: O’Malley and Dvalishvili Headline Title Fights at Las Vegas’ Sphere

UFC 306 kicks off Saturday night in Las Vegas, featuring two highly anticipated title fights during the promotion’s one-time event at the Sphere.

In the main event, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (18-1) will defend his title for the second time against No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili (17-4), who enters the bout on a 10-fight winning streak dating back to September 2018.

Though the two fighters have never faced each other, the matchup carries a personal edge for Dvalishvili. O’Malley captured the bantamweight title in August 2023 by knocking out Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, who happens to be Dvalishvili’s teammate and training partner. According to MMAFighting.com, Sterling and Dvalishvili had agreed not to fight each other while Sterling held the belt. Now that Sterling is no longer champion, Dvalishvili has his chance to claim the title and become only the second UFC champion from Georgia.

O’Malley, who has been with the UFC since 2017, is looking to extend his current winning streak to four fights with a victory over Dvalishvili. At press time, O’Malley is a slight favorite at -120, coming off a win against Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in March, while Dvalishvili enters as a +100 underdog, according to Tapology.

The co-main event will feature a women’s flyweight title bout between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, completing their trilogy nearly a year in the making. Their second fight in September 2023 ended in a draw, while Grasso became the first female Mexican UFC champion earlier that year by submitting Shevchenko via rear-naked choke at UFC 285.

The winner of this fight will likely be crowned the best women’s flyweight in MMA. The rivalry gained even more attention after the two coached against each other on The Ultimate Fighter 32. Grasso enters as a slight favorite at -120, while Shevchenko, a former flyweight champion, is at +100. If Grasso wins, she will take the lead in the series, but a Shevchenko victory could lead to a rare fourth fight.

The 10-fight card, branded as Riyadh Season Noche UFC, heavily features Mexican-based fighters. Preliminary bouts begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the main card starting at 10 p.m. ET.

Source: Field Level Media