Merab Dvalishvili looked eager and he looked relentless at UFC 306. Most notably, he looked like a champion.
He now has a belt to match.
Over the course of 25 minutes, Dvalishvili cumulatively mauled UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley to win via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) and extend a UFC bantamweight-record 11-fight win streak. Facing a lethal striker in O’Malley, Dvalishvili maintained a manic pace until O’Malley was gasping for air in the championship rounds.
“The Machine” just kept coming, even as a few O’Malley strikes left some cuts on his face. More than a few times, O’Malley wasn’t just taken down but slammed into the mat, and the striking specialist had no answers for the Georgian on the ground.
There were weird moments, though. The fight was paused after only a few seconds in the first round when Dvalishvili appeared to get in an argument with O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch. There was also a, shall we say, incident in which Dvalishvili kissed O’Malley while against the fence then got up and walked away with four seconds left in the second round, which gave O’Malley enough time to get up and land another strike.
O’Malley still managed to show enough in the third and fifth rounds to avoid a shutout, but Dvalishvili had a clear enough advantage that the entire Sphere crowd should have known O’Malley needed a finish. He didn’t get it.
In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko reclaimed her UFC women’s flyweight belt with a masterclass in her trilogy fight against Alexa Grasso. The future Hall of Famer outlanded her opponent 45-18 while dominating her on the ground, landing 8-of-12 takedown attempts and recording more than 16 minutes of ground control time.
Grasso had a couple moments, most notably a guillotine in the fourth round that had Shevchenko stuck for a minute or so, but ultimately went nowhere.
In the background of all this, literally, was the Sphere’s awe-inspiring visuals. The UFC reportedly spent $20 million — 10 times more than a normal card — for the high-tech venue and its enormous, round LED screen, and it all made for a once-ina-lifetime experience, with special “Noche UFC” presentations in between fights in honor of Mexican Independence Day.
Here’s how it all went down via Yahoo Sports:
Live153 updates
UFC 306: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 – Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada
Main card (Start time 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV)
Prelims (Start time 8 p.m. ET, ESPNEWS/ESPN+)
Early Prelims (Start time 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass)