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UFC 306: Promo Revealed For Mexican Independence Day Card At MSG Sphere

The official UFC 306 promo was shown during the UFC 305 pay-per-view broadcast and features two title fights.

Zain Bando

via UFC
via UFC /

"Riyadh Season Noche UFC," also known as UFC 306, is under a month away at the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, Nev. The event culminates with Mexican Independence Day, head-to-head with Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena.

With anticipation mounting, the UFC released its full extended promo package, which features two title fights at the top of the billing. Sean O'Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1, 1 NC UFC) makes his second defense of his bantamweight title, opposite Merab Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC), a winner of 10 consecutive fights.

The co-main event features a highly-anticipated trilogy fight, as the women's flyweight title will be on the line. TUF 32 coach Alexa Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) will again face her adversary, Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC), in a fight taking place almost a year to the exact date of their second encounter.

Grasso, who upset Shevchenko in March of last year at UFC 285, was immediately booked again against Shevchenko six months later. The pair fought to a closely contested draw, with many fans, media members, and pundits divided as to who came away victorious.

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To sell the fight even more, the pair is coaching "The Ultimate Fighter," which wraps up with the final episode Tuesday night, followed by the live finale for featherweights and middleweights Saturday night at the UFC APEX, known as UFC Vegas 96.

The rest of UFC 306 will see a plethora of Mexican talent, as the UFC opted to go with a 10-fight card (five prelim fights and five main card fights) instead of the traditional 12, 13, or 14 fights.

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The event is dubbed by UFC CEO Dana White as a "love letter" to Mexican combat sports, with storytelling elements that will be shown on-screen between main card bouts, according to a recent appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show."

It will be the lone time the UFC ever hosts an event as MSG Sphere, as ticket prices are at a premium.

Below is the bout order, which is subject to change.

UFC 306 Bout Order

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

  • Main Event: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili, bantamweight – for O’Malley’s bantamweight title 
  • Co-Main Event: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3 – for Grasso’s women’s flyweight title 
  • Ronaldo Rodríguez vs. Ode Osbourne, flyweight 
  • Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes, featherweight
  • Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics, lightweight 

Preliminary Card (TV + Early Portion: ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass; 7:30 p.m. ET)

  • Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont, women’s bantamweight
  • Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza, women’s strawweight
  • Edgar Chairez vs. Kevin Borjas, flyweight
  • Manuel Torres vs. Ignacio Bahamondes lightweight
  • Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng, bantamweight

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    Published
    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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