-
Andreas Hale, ESPN
UFC 306, taking place at The Sphere in Las Vegas on September 14, will be headlined by two title fights, as Sean O'Malley defends his bantamweight title against top contender Merab Dvalishvili and Alexa Grasso fights Valentina Shevchenko for the women's flyweight championship in a trilogy fight.
UFC president Dana White announced the 10-fight card, renamed “Noche UFC,” on Friday night as the promotion's most ambitious event in its history.
White said the event at The Sphere will be a “one-off” and the most expensive one UFC has ever organized. UFC has also tied Riyadh Season to the event, securing a title sponsor for the first time.
O'Malley will be defending his title for the second time. After knocking out Aljamain Sterling to win the title in August of last year, he avenged his loss to Marlon Vera by unanimous decision in March. A long-rumored title defense against Dvalishvili, who is on a 10-fight winning streak, is finally happening in September. Dvalishvili is fresh off a dominant decision win over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo in February.
Grasso and Shevchenko will meet for the third consecutive time in a co-main event. Grasso defeated Shevchenko by submission in the fourth round to win the title in March 2023. The two fought again last September, ending in a controversial split draw. Both fighters were named head coaches for The Ultimate Fighter franchise and were expected to meet at the end of the season.
The card will also feature a featherweight showdown between Diego Lopez and Brian Ortega. The two were scheduled to meet at UFC 303, but Ortega was ill on the day of the fight and Dan Ige took his place. Lopez won and set his sights on a no-contest UFC next. UFC responded by rebooking the bout for what was expected to be a featherweight eliminator.
The 10-bout card will take place over Mexico's Independence Day weekend and take place just minutes after the recently announced boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga at T-Mobile Arena.
