UFC 306: Shevchenko regains title; Dvalishvili unseats O'Malley

MANILA, Philippines – History has been made! UFC president Dana White promised a once-in-a-lifetime event when he announced a UFC event at Sphere in Las Vegas. 

From stellar production, iconic visuals and celebratory storytelling, to brilliant fights and stunning championships, UFC 306, held last Sunday, September 15, can be considered a massive, unrivaled success.

The two titles at stake changed hands.  

Georgian Merab Dvalishvili thoroughly dominated former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley with his high cardio and counter attacking style, which stymied the latter.

Dvalishvili stayed on the move and landed takedowns, all of which kept O'Malley from landing his strikes. Once on the ground, Dvalishvili wore out O'Malley and took huge points from his near submissions and ground and pound.

O’Malley came alive in the fourth round where he clearly hurt Merab, but it wasn’t enough to retain his title as the latter rolled to a unanimous decision triumph, 49-46, 48-47, 48-47.

It was a perfect game plan that earned the Georgian the title belt to which he exclaimed, "Today I wasn't feeling any different than any other day, and I was curious because I'm fighting for the belt. But that's what I do every day, I work hard. Crazy! I feel like I'm in a dream. I just went step by step, and that's how I got here. I know O'Malley was good, but I made him look normal. Today, I'm the best fighter in the UFC. I proved it!"

For the third consecutive title fight, UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso was constantly forced to defend from the ground from former titleholder Valentina Shevchenko throughout their third and definitive meeting.

This third bout, Shevchenko was the aggressor and looking to create opportunities to take back what she feels in his rightful ownership — the title belt that she held for five years before Grasso snatched it away during UFC 285 in March of 2023. Their second meeting ended in a controversial draw that saw Grasso retain the belt in September of that same year.

Shevchenko landed takedowns at will and stayed on top position, while Grasso hunted for submissions off her back. There were close attempts from each, but a conservative Shevchenko stuck to her