The Sphere in Las Vegas will host UFC action for the first time as the much-anticipated UFC 306 arrives on 14th September. The action has been branded as the second Noche UFC night to take place in celebration of the Mexican Day of Independence, which is on 16th September.
Noche UFC will be a big celebration of Mexican culture and is reported to be the most expensive UFC night ever promoted. The atmosphere is going to be electric, and with Mexican fighters booked for the night, this is going to be something special.
To ramp up the excitement even further, there are two title fights on the night to look forward to, and you can follow the fixtures on Tonybet! The first of these sees Mexican MMA superstar Alexa Grasso squaring up to Valentina Shevchenko in the women’s flyweight title fight.
The headline act of the night, however, features the colourful-haired MMA star Sean O’Malley taking on Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC Bantamweight Championship title.
The card
While it will be a huge night of MMA action headlined by the two championship fights, there’s plenty of other interest on the Vegas card. Among the other eye-catching bouts, there is Brian Ortega vs Diego Lopes. Ortega, a two-time featherweight challenger, could have his hands full with Lopes, one of the fastest-rising stars of the UFC.
It will also be a big night for Mexican mixed martial artist Irene Aldana. The bantamweight, who holds an 8-5-0 UFC record, goes up against the in-form Norma Dumont, who is on a four-fight winning streak.
Full UFC 306 card
- Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
- Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko
- Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes
- Esteban Ribovics vs. Daniel Zellhuber
- Ode Osbourne vs. Ronaldo Rodríguez
- Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
- Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
- Kevin Borjas vs. Edgar Chairez
- Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
- Raúl Rosas Jr. vs. Qileng Aori
Bantamweight title bout – O’Malley v Dvalishvili
The UFC Bantamweight Championship fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili will close the night in Las Vegas. O’Malley holds the belt after winning it against Aljamain Sterling in 2023 in spectacular fashion, before making a successful title defence last time out against Marlon Vera.
O’Malley, aka ‘Suga’, holds an 18-1-0 career record in MMA and is currently on a six-fight winning streak. He has stated during the build-up to this latest bout that he is going to target a cut that Dvalishvili picked up just above his eye in training.
Even though Dvalishvili has shrugged it off as something minor, UFC boss Dana White called it “stupid” to publicly show off a potential disadvantage, as Dvalishvili had pulled the stitches out of the wound himself before it had fully healed.
- Sean O’Malley UFC Record: 10-1-0
- Merab Dvalishvili UFC Record: 10-2-0
Georgian challenger Dvalishvili gives up five inches in height to his opponent and about four inches of reach. He holds a 17-4-0 record in his MMA career and is on a three-fight winning streak, which started with a unanimous decision against José Aldo in August 2022.
Dvalishvili was last seen recording a victory against Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 earlier this year. It’s a huge night for him in the trajectory of his career – a shot at a title against one of the biggest current attractions in the sport.
But can he pull it off? He doesn’t have the punching power of O’Malley, and he is going to have to try to find a way to slow down the American. Dvalishvili, aka ‘The Machine’, has a background in jiu-jitsu, so he could look to get on the inside and work him on the mat. He probably doesn’t want to get into a striking match with O’Malley.
Women’s flyweight title bout – Grasso v Shevchenko
The mouth-watering conclusion of the trilogy between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko is going to be a spectacular match-up. Grasso, the current flyweight champion, became the first female UFC Champion from Mexico, and she will get a huge amount of support at Noche UFC. Will this help her to finish the series successfully over Shevchenko?
Grasso produced a victory over Shevchenko in their first meeting back in 2023 via a rear naked choke in round four. It was a big upset on the night, as Shevchenko had been hotly tipped to continue a fine winning streak that she had been on at the time.
The judges then couldn’t split the duo in a draw six months later at a UFC Fight Night, which was the first ever Noche UFC night. Shevchenko wasn’t happy at the end of the fight, however. She was convinced that she had won the bout, but a controversial 10-8 scorecard in favour of Grasso in the final round from one of the judges meant that a split decision was called.
- Alexa Grasso UFC record: 8-3-1
- Valentina Shevchenko UFC record: 12-3-1
Historic trilogy conclusion
History will be created as this is the first-ever women’s UFC trilogy, and for it, Grasso and Shevchenko are popular dance partners at this point. That controversial result from the second fight adds a bit of extra spice to the conclusion of this trilogy.
Grasso holds a 16-3-1 record in MMA and hasn’t suffered a defeat since 2021 when she lost by a decision against Carla Esparza. Shevchenko, aka ‘Bullet’, is one of the greats of the UFC and holds a 23-4-1 MMA record.
The 36-year-old fighter from Kyrgyzstan, who has a Muay Thai background, had been on a nine-fight winning streak before running into Alexa Grasso at UFC 285. Even though she is now going into her third attempt to beat Grasso and rise back to the top of the division, the experience of Shevchenko can’t be underestimated and she’s only running as a narrow underdog in the fight odds.
Get knockout odds on these great matches
Are we looking at a spectacular night of knockouts in the two Championship matches at UFC 306? Highlight-reel finishes would put a fine cap on the proceedings, but how are the knockout odds currently shaping up for the two title fights?
O’Malley vs Dvalishvili knockout odds
O’Malley is clinical at stopping his opponents. Of O’Malley’s 18 career MMA wins, 11 of them have been by a KO/TKO, and he’s around a 3.25 quote to pull this off in the Method of Victory market when he steps into the Octagon against Dvalishvili.
In contrast, only three of Dvalishvili’s MMA victories have come by a KO/TKO. Looking at his stats, the most likely path to victory for the challenger is through a decision in the headline bout, which has been the result of his last three fights. However, it’s a tough ask for him to try to take the fast, energetic O’Malley the distance.
Grasso vs Shevchenko knockout odds
Grasso is the narrow favourite to win her bout with Shevchenko, but she has only four KO/TKO results in her 16 MMA victories, leaving her with a 25% win rate by that method. Shevchenko’s returns in this area are slightly better, with eight of her 23 MMA victories coming by a KO/TKO, which represents 35% of her victories.
However, as we saw from the two previous bouts, and with both fighters having a good understanding of their opponent’s threats, the fight is expected to go long and come down to a fine points margin as opposed to a knockout.
The shortest-priced Method of Victory option for both Grasso and Shevchenko is by a decision, with 2.65 odds on Grasso and 3.0 on Shevchenko.
Latest UFC 306 odds at Tonybet
Get all the UFC 306 odds for match results, knockouts and round betting selections at Tonybet. For this big celebration of Mexican Independence Day, we have pre-fight odds for the entire Noche UFC card in Las Vegas. There will also be plenty of in-play MMA betting odds covering options such as Round Betting and Method of Victory when the fights get underway.
It’s a huge night in Vegas because UFC 306 is going head-to-head with another Mexican fighting superstar, boxer Canelo Álvarez, who will be taking on Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena on the same night. While checking out the top MMA odds, you can also grab all the best boxing markets for that, right here at Tonybet. Bet on the UFC on Tonybet!
