Noche UFC, UFC 306 held some of the most thrilling fights at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday. Headlining the event was the bantamweight title fight between champion Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
The first round saw both fighters cautiously moving around the cage, trying to get a drop on the other. O’Malley’s coaches tried to distract Merab, but the referee cautioned them. O’Malley landed the first punch that left Merab bleeding out of his nose, but Merab used this opportunity to score a takedown. “Suga” quickly recovered and got back on his feet, but Merab landed a stiff jab and another takedown before attempting a failed guillotine choke.
O’Malley became extra cautious of Merba’s takedowns in the second round and stayed at arm’s length, but Merab kept on the offensive. Merab soon scored another takedown and hammered O’Malley with a ground and pound. Merab continued to land punishing blows and taunted the champ with a kiss before the horn sounded.
O’Malley started to pick up the pace in the third round, but Merab wasted no time in flooring him again. ‘Suga’ swung a nice elbow that opened another cut, but Merab retaliated with vicious strikes. The two continued to land punishing blows, with O’Malley looking for an opening, but “The Machine” kept his defense up and finished the round with a takedown. The match ended with a fifth-round unanimous decision win for Merab.
The Georgian was excited about his win as he recounted the UFC306 at his post-fight conference.
“Today I wasn’t feeling any different than any other day,” Dvalishvili said following his win. “I was actually curious why I wasn’t feeling that I was fighting for a UFC belt. Today was a normal day for me. As you see, I don’t spend my energy. Crazy. I feel I’m in a dream. Today, I’m the best fighter in the UFC. I proved!
“I can go 15 more rounds like this. and I have a belt, and won, everybody knows I dominated this guy.”
I just won the belt,” Dvalisvhili said. “And I respect and love Dana White, whatever he wants. Now, I’m a champion. I want to be close. I want him to know me more better. and I respect him. Dana White changed my life. Now look at me. I’m the UFC champion!”
In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko dominated Alexa Grasso, regaining the flyweight title. The bout was a trilogy match between the two, with the previous fighter ending in a draw. However, Shevchenko had other plans and dropped Grasso eight times during the five-round match. Still, on the main card, Brian Ortega battled Diego Lopes in the featherweight division but was no match for him. The bout ended with a unanimous decision win for Lopes.
Although UFC 306 night was a big win for Lopes as a fighter, it was pretty disappointing for him as a coach. Lopes served as a coach for Alexa Grasso’s corner during her match and was pretty unimpressed with her performance.
“I think Alexa froze and wasn’t in the fight tonight,” Lopes said via a Spanish translator. “Valentina didn’t do much either. What did she do? She just took her to the ground and tried to control her there. Didn’t do any damage, she didn’t do anything either.”
I’m a little bit upset about all the Mexicans who lost the fight tonight,” Lopes said. “Obviously, I’m happy with my win, but I wanted more Mexicans to win. But this is the toughest sport in the world. You can’t always get what you want, so yeah, I’m a bit upset about that.”
“I really want to support everyone from my team, so I made sure I wanted to be there for Alexa,” Lopes said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win tonight and I wasn’t able to speak with her because I was brought up here for all my media commitments, but I’m looking forward to speaking with her after this.”
Although fans have said the fights from UFC 306 were dull and uninteresting, others–including Dana White—believe some fighters deserve rewards for their performance. Two such fighters were Esteban Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber.
The two lightweight fighters battled it out on Saturday and left the cage with severe injuries by the end of the match. The fight was considered a wild brawl, with Ribovics earning a split decision win. In addition to his victory, the fighter left the octagon with a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, the same as his rival.
Main Card
Merab Dvalishvili defeats Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision.
Valentina Shevchenko defeats Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision.
Diego Lopes defeats Brian Ortega via unanimous decision.
Esteban Ribovics defeats Daniel Zellhuber via split decision.
Ronaldo Rodriguez def. Ode Osbourne via unanimous decision.
Norma Dumont defeats Irene Aldana via unanimous decision.
Igancio Bahamondes defeats Manuel Torres via first-round knockout (punches).
Ketlen Souza defeats Yazmin Jauregui via first-round submission (rear-naked choke).
Joshua Van defeats Edgar Chairez via unanimous decision.
Raul Rosas Jr. defeats Aoriqileng via unanimous decision.
