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Rumor Killer on UFC 306 PPV, Massive Fight Planned for the Sphere in Las Vegas

Prominent MMA journalist Ariel Helwani addressed the UFC 306 fight leak announcement on the RDS broadcast.

Zain Bando

Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday night, word started to go around that the two headlining fights set to top the bill at the UFC 306 MSG Sphere event on Sept. 14 were leaked by the French-Canadian UFC Denver RDS broadcast, including Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title.

Veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani credited the broadcast for being partially correct, as the other leak included Ilia Topuria's first featherweight title defense opposite ex-champion Max Holloway, which has a different date in mind.

French-Canadian Broadcast Supposedly Leaks UFC 306 Title Fights For Sphere Debut

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To sum up, Helwani revealed the UFC brass will likely have two title fights during UFC 306. One could be Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3 or an entirely different opponent for Grasso if Shevchenko can't make the fight. Helwani did not answer either way.

Where Will Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway Take Place?

As per Helwani, the UFC has no immediate plans to headline Topuria in Spain as initially proposed. Therefore, the UFC's unofficial date of Oct. 5 for UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah will have to be the best bet for that fight as of now, along with newly minted women's bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington taking on former champion Julianna Peña.

At press time, none of the fights discussed above have been signed, nor confirmed by the UFC. However, in an interview Monday with Pat McAfee, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that the Sphere event will only have 10 fights as opposed to the traditional 12 or 13.

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It remains to be seen what additional announcements become official in the coming days or weeks, as Sept. 14 is two months away.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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