The Las Vegas Sphere now officially offers two title fights this fall.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the full fight card for September 14 at UFC 306, which will headline a bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili . UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko will fight for the third time in the co-main event. UFC 306 will mark the first combat sports event held at the new venue located just off the Las Vegas Strip.
O’Malley first captured the bantamweight title belt with a TKO victory over Aljamain Sterling last fall. He successfully defended that title with a unanimous decision victory over Marlon Vera in March as well. The 29-year-old will enter his fight against Dvalishvili with an 18-1 record and 12 KOs. He has also won six consecutive fights dating back to 2021, with the exception of a no contest against Pedro Munhoz.
Dvalishvili, on the other hand, has been moving toward a title fight for some time now. He’s on an incredible 10-fight winning streak dating back to 2018, and he last beat Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision at UFC 298 earlier this year. The 33-year-old holds a 17-4 record with three knockouts in his career.
The co-main event featuring Grasso defending her women’s flyweight title against former champion Shevchenko will mark the third consecutive fight between the two. Grasso beat Shevchenko to win the flyweight belt for the first time in March 2023 with a fourth-round submission, then she defended that title in a rematch that ended in a draw last fall . Grasso will enter with a 16-3-1 record. Shevchenko, who held the title for years before her first loss to Grasso, holds a record of 23-4-1 with eight knockouts.
UFC 306 card
Here’s a look at the fights scheduled so far for UFC 306.
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Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aori Qilen
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Yazmin Jáuregui vs. Kelten Souza
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Kevin Borjas vs. Edgar Chairez
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Irene Aldana vs. Irene Aldana Norma Dumont
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Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manoel Torres
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From Osbourne Vs. Ronaldo Rodriguez
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Esteban Ribovics vs. Daniel Zelluber
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Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopez
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Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko
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Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili