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UFC 306 Fight Card Preview – Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili

A historic UFC card is set to take place at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC)

The UFC heads to Sphere in Las Vegas, NV this Saturday (September 14) for a historic UFC 306 (Noche UFC) card that features two huge title fights at the top of the bill.

The Main Event

The main event will see Sean O’Malley attempt to defend his bantamweight title for the second time when he meets #1-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili.

Currently riding an impressive 10-fight win streak, Dvalishvili’s last three outings have seen him best former UFC champions José Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. He’ll be tasked with ending O’Malley's own six-fight win streak, which includes avenging his only career loss to Marlon “Chito” Vera in his first title defense at UFC 299.

Sean O’Malley Pitched Next Fight ‘Once He Loses to Merab' at UFC 306

The Co-Main Event

The night’s co-main event is another title bout that will see Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko finally settle their rivalry with a highly-anticipated trilogy fight.

Grasso famously claimed the UFC women’s flyweight title via fourth-round submission when she defeated Shevchenko in a massive upset at UFC 285. An immediate rematch between the two women last September ended in a split draw, and now almost exactly a year after that meeting “Bullet” will once again try to reclaim her belt.

Fights You Don’t Want To Miss

Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes

This matchup was originally scheduled for UFC 303 before Ortega was forced to withdraw mid-card and Dan Ige stepped in on a few hours’ notice to face Lopes at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Lopes has his eyes firmly set on featherweight title contention after collecting four-straight wins, and if “T-City” has any hope of a third crack at the division’s title he’ll need to pick up a huge victory at Sphere and erase the memory of what happened at UFC 303.

Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres

UFC 306 Fight Card Preview – Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Aug 5, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Ignacio Bahamondes (red gloves) fights Ludovit Klein (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Bridgestone Arena. / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Bahamondes returned to the win column with a highlight-reel knockout against Christos Giagos in his last outing, and now he’ll try to hand Torres the first loss of his UFC career. “El Loco” is currently on a six-fight winning streak where he’s stopped every opponent in the first round, but Bahamondes presents arguably the biggest test of his career thus far and hasn’t been finished since 2017.

Alexa Grasso Proposes Champion vs. Champion Fight after UFC 306

Fighters to Watch

Norma Dumont

UFC 306 Fight Card Preview – Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Sep 10, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Norma Dumont (red gloves) fights Danyelle Wolf (blue gloves) during UFC 279 at T-Mobile Arena. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Entering UFC 306 as the promotion’s #8-ranked women’s bantamweight contender, Dumont is closing in on title contention after picking up four-straight victories. “The Immortal” can steal Aldana’s #5 ranking if she’s able to best her in Las Vegas, and a win over the former title challenger could also set her up for a potential number one contender matchup.

Raul Rosas Jr.

UFC 306 Fight Card Preview – Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Sep 16, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Raul Rosas Jr. (red gloves) fights Terrence Mitchell (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at T-Mobile Arena. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Rosas Jr. is always a major talking point of any card he’s scheduled to fight on, and since suffering his first pro loss last year the 19-year-old has rebounded impressively with back-to-back finishes. He’s now set to face a significantly more experienced opponent in Aoriqileng, but if “El Niño Problema” can pass this test it should set him up for some higher-profile matchups going forward.

Joshua Van

UFC 306 Fight Card Preview – Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Joshua Van (red gloves) fights Charles Johnson (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Van stormed into the UFC’s bantamweight division with three-straight wins before suffering the first knockout-loss of his career in the final round against Charles Johnson. The 22-year-old still has plenty of time left to develop, but given the amount of hype he accumulated after joining the UFC fans will be watching closely to see how Van rebounds from being violently finished in that upset-loss.

Mexican UFC Star Reveals Why He’s Not Fighting on UFC 306

Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10:00 p.m. ET)

• Main Event: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili – For the UFC Men’s Bantamweight Championship

• Co-Main Event: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3 – For the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

• Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes

• Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics

• Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode Osbourne

Preliminary Card (ESPN NEWS/ESPN+, 8:00 p.m. ET)

• Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont

• Manuel Torres vs. Ignacio Bahamondes

• Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza

• Edgar Chairez vs. Joshua Van


Early Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass, 7:30 p.m. ET)

• Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng

Read More UFC & MMA News

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• Ex-Title Challenger Eyes UFC Return with Contender Series Fight

• Dana White Reveals Return Date for Conor McGregor

• UFC 307 Fighter Wants Rare Honor from Dana White Before Career Ends

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Drew Beaupre

DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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