UFC 306 Preview
The UFC is invading the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, September 14th for UFC 306. The card will be the promotion’s second “Noche UFC” celebrating Mexican Independence Day. The main event will be for the bantamweight title between champion Sean O’Malley and #1 Merab Dvalishvili.
O’Malley was able to avenge his only loss in his last fight at UFC 299, where he defeated rival Marlon Vera by unanimous decision. The fight was one-sided, and O’Malley proved that he will not be an easy champion to dethrone. The 29-year-old has become one of the biggest stars of the UFC and with a win, he would catapult to the next level of popularity in MMA.
"I think you have to want to be a star, and when I was in middle school, I did," O'Malley said. "There are other guys who could be superstars, I just don't think they want to be. Conor McGregor wanted to be a superstar. [UFC featherweight champion] Ilia Topuria wants to be a superstar. You have to have the skills and the highlights, all that -- but you've got to want it, too."
The champion is confident he will produce a highlight reel result on Saturday. "I truly believe I'm gonna put his lights out very early," O'Malley says. "I find people's chin. That's what I'm saying. I do. I'm going to find Merab's chin. He has a huge head. I could try not to hit him and probably still accidentally hit him."
While O’Malley is riding high with confidence, he is aware how dangerous Dvalishvili can be. "He's ranked No. 1. He's on a 10-fight win streak," O’Malley said. "The only reason he's never fought for a title or was never the champion is because Aljamain Sterling was there. He’s as dangerous as it gets. Cardio machine. He doesn't get tired. He's been rocked a few times, but he's got a good chin.
“He got rocked hard from Marlon Moraes and ended up finishing him. So he's very durable. He's got good cardio. He's obviously skilled. He's on a 10-fight win streak. He's very, very dangerous.”
There have been talks of O’Malley moving up to 145 pounds to challenge for the title with a win on Saturday. He will have plenty of options and he has even entertained the idea of a boxing super-fight. "There's only one way to find out: Give me that check," O'Malley said. "I don't know. The only thing that stays the same is change itself. I'm constantly changing, my mindset is constantly changing. Right now, my mindset is to be the greatest fighter of all time. I go out there, win a fight, box, make $100 million? My mindset might not be that anymore. Right now, I'm focused on fighting."
Dvalishvili has won 10 straight fights and defeated two former champions in his last two contests. He earned unanimous decision victories over Henry Cejudo and Petr Yan to earn his spot in a title fight. The Georgian fighter is being driven by bad blood with O’Malley.
"O'Malley, he tried to be bully," Dvalishvili said. "He tried to talk s*** but he don't know that - that doesn't work [on] me. I'm gonna beat him more because of that. He's been bullying, disrespectful to me. I won't be sad when I will beat him.
"He's good, but he's lucky... I wish fight was tomorrow."
He continued, "O'Malley, you better show up. If you don't show up, I'm gonna fight your coach Tim," Dvalishvili warned team O'Malley.”
The 33-year-old may want to win convincingly but he understands it will not come easy. “This is a tough challenge for me. Sean O’Malley is a good fighter and that’s why I always wanted to fight him. I want to win this fight and I want to be organic. I don’t want to overthink. I don’t want to be cocky. First I have to win this fight and after we can talk. One thing is for sure, I’m working hard and I’m very hungry,” said Dvalishvili.
While the challenger is known for his grappling-heavy style, he wants to prove his critics wrong. “I want to knock Sean O’Malley out,” Dvalishvili said. “I will knock him out. You guys will be surprised. Watch this fight and you guys will see. I know people think I’m a grappler. You guys will see. I’m going to show different skills. I’m going to knock him out. I’m going to outstrike him. You guys will see. I’m going to f*ck the shit out of him, too. You will see.”
He concluded, “One thing is for sure, I’m working hard and I’m very hungry,” Dvalishvili said. “I’m going to surprise a lot of people. I’m telling you I’m looking for the knockout and don’t be surprised if I knock him out.”
The co-main event of the evening will also be for a title. Mexican champion Alexa Grasso will defend the women’s flyweight title in a trilogy match against former champion Valentina Shevchenko.
Grasso shocked the world by defeating Shevchenko at UFC 285 with a fourth round submission after Shevchenko had defended the belt seven times. The two fought to a split draw in the second fight a year ago, leaving the winner of the rubber match to be crowned as the best flyweight in the world.
This will be the first women’s trilogy fight in the UFC. Grasso commented on making history. “It means a lot,” Grasso said. “It’s showing how hard I’m working. I love to put everything I have in every single fight, and this is the result of all these years of hard work.”
The 31-year-old has her mind on a big fight if she defeats Shevchenko on Saturday. ''Weili Zhang is my dream fight," Grasso said. "It will be one of my biggest fights to date. She is strong, powerful, and well-rounded. She is a great fighter and I even heard she would love to test herself at 125, so I would love to welcome her.''
While she does have a dream fight, she commented on her current rival. “It’s like a love-hate relationship between me and Valentina. I have been watching her career since I was very young. She has been a role model for all the women and has done so much for the sport – not just for the women but for the men also. It’s pretty cool to be able to be on the same level as her,” said Grasso.
“We did The Ultimate Fighter and had two really cool fights together. The second fight was a hell of a fight, just imagine what the third fight would be like! We are both very professional and have been working so hard every day. To be the first female Mexican champion is huge for me. I’m proud of all the work I have done. The day of the fight will be different in there because we are going to kill each other. But, it is cool to have such a competitor in Valentina,” Grasso continued.
There have been talks of Grasso moving up to become a two-weight champion, but she had to put those conversations on pause. “I would love to be a two weight-world champion, it is such a big question and goal for me,” Grasso said. “However, I have friends in the upper weight classes such as Loopy Godinez in the strawweight division and Irene Aldana in the bantamweight division, and our team's goal is to all be champions in each of our weight classes, so I would have to pause that dream for now.''
Grasso knows what this fight at the Sphere means to her country. “It’s going to be very cool and beautiful,” Grasso said. “I went and saw the Sphere with all the Mexican graphics and everything. It’s a great promotion with everything they’re doing. Like you said, no other country has had this opportunity. This speaks on all the great work all the Mexican fighters are doing.”
Shevchenko won the flyweight title in 2018 and held the belt until losing to Grasso in 2023. She was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and could return to that status with a win over Grasso on Saturday. Although, the former champion believes she won the last fight.
“Our previous fight, I won that fight and only because of an interesting decision of one judge, it went to the draw decision,” Shevchenko said. “If you ask the world of martial arts, everyone who understands fighting, all the judges and everything, they definitely saw me win in the fight. I think it's good for everyone and you see me winning on the second fight, so it's kind of like stick to the same game plan, do the same thing, be myself and win the fight.”
Despite her thoughts on her last fight, Shevchenko knows she is on the path back to the title. “True supporters, they understand the truth and they’re with you, no matter what,” Shevchenko said. “A champion's mindset is to follow your way, follow your path in this world and if you know your path and what you have to do, it's easy because no matter what's happening around you, every time you are going to stick to one plan.”
She continued, “I've been in martial arts all my life already, 31 years in training,” Shevchenko said. “For me, martial arts is more than just a fight, it's more than just a show; it's my life, it's my lifestyle and I respect my opponents. I respect everyone.”
The former champion is not thinking about who she will fight next. “A huge mistake of many fighters, they start to plan like five years, ten years ahead, but if you think about five years, it's a long time. Five years ago is 2019, which is when I first had my belt. If I were to look back and see what is going to happen in five years, I never would have imagined what is going to happen. Let's focus on what is waiting for us in the near future,” Shevchenko said.
Aside from Grasso, the only other fighter to defeat Shevchenko in the UFC is all-time great Amanda Nunes. Shevchenko fought Nunes twice at bantamweight and lost the second fight for the title by a razor thin split decision. There were always rumors of a third fight with Nunes, who has since retired. A large portion of UFC fans still have hopes that a fight with Nunes could happen because it is the only fight that could intrigue Nunes enough to come out of retirement.
Shevchenko has already achieved hall of fame status with key wins in her career over Holly Holm, Julianna Pena, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche and Jessica Andrade. Completing the trilogy against Grasso with a win will return her back to the top of the women’s pound for pound list.
The rest of the main card:
Featherweight - #3 Brian Ortega vs. #13 Diego Lopes
Lightweight - Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics
Flyweight - Ronaldo Rodríguez vs. Ode' Osbourne
ESPN+ Prelims:
Women's Bantamweight - #5 Irene Aldana vs. #8 Norma Dumont
Lightweight - Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
Women's Strawweight - Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
Flyweight - Édgar Cháirez vs. Joshua Van
Early Prelims on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass:
Bantamweight - Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aori Qileng
