CombatSports.org

UFC

submitted by /u/inooway
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Merab Dvalishvili and Valentina Shevchenko left UFC 306 Sphere in Las Vegas as UFC champions following their dominant decision wins over Sean O’Malley and Valentina Shevchenko. Despite the championship bouts not being the most thrilling affairs, was the UFC’s big swing a success?

Following Saturday’s pay-per-view event, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jed Meshew react to Dvalishvili and Shevchenko’s title wins, what the losses mean for the now former champions, Diego Lopes continuing his incredible surge with a win over Brian Ortega, the Fight of the Year contender between Esteban Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber, and more.

Additionally, José Youngs gives his experience of being inside Sphere live for the card, talks how it looked and felt being there, and his biggest takeaways.

Watch the UFC 305 post-fight show above, or an audio-only version of the show can also be streamed below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your pods.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Bonus Report
| BJPenn.com

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – It’s better to be safe than sorry …

Following UFC 306 tonight (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024), which took place from inside The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, company officials confirmed to MMAMania.com that former UFC title challengers Brian Ortega and Irene Aldana were transported to the local hospital following their fights for a precautionary scan of their face.

Ortega faced off against Diego Lopes in the “Featured” bout, losing a unanimous decision. The two-time Featherweight title challenger suffered a nasty eye injury after getting clobbered in the fight.
Check out the picture of his eye below:

Aldana suffered one of the worst cuts in UFC history in her fight with Norma Dumont. The former Women’s Bantamweight title challenger lost the fight in a lopsided unanimous decision. Aldana has now traded wins and losses in her last three fights.

Check out the nasty cut:

Ronaldo “Lazy Boy” Rodriguez was also transported to the hospital following his win over Ode Osbourne for a precautionary CT scan of his head and face.

It is not uncommon for the UFC to transport fighters to the hospital for precautionary reasons, especially if they are involved in a three-round battle full of damage. The scan results have not been officially released as of this writing, although UFC CEO Dana White said he thinks the fighters are “okay.” Stay with MMAmania.com for health-related updates.

For complete UFC 306 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/event_threads
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean O’Malley was understandably disappointed with his result at UFC 306.

After vowing to end Merab Dvalishvili inside the first round, O’Malley ended up losing a unanimous decision, which cost him the bantamweight title in his second attempted defense. O’Malley struggled to deal with Dvalishvili’s relentless pressure and takedowns before he was ultimately dethroned as champion.

While he didn’t make an appearance at the post-fight press conference, O’Malley posted a brief message on social media to address his loss.

“Over promised, under delivered,” O’Malley wrote on Twitter. “Sorry. Love you guys.”

Best known for his sniper-like striking, O’Malley just couldn’t put the trigger much on Saturday with Dvalishvili constantly walking him down and then scoring on several takedowns. The wrestling from Dvalishvili definitely altered O’Malley’s ability to use his kicks, although he did connect with a nasty shot to the body late in the fifth round.

Unfortunately for O’Malley it was too little, too late with Dvalishvili surviving the only serious damage he suffered in the fight before he was crowned the new UFC bantamweight champion.

It’s only the second time O’Malley has tasted defeat in his career, although he’ll likely say it’s the first after an injury led to a ground and pound finish when he fell to Marlon “Chito” Vera back in 2020.

Considering the way the fight against Dvalishvili played out, O’Malley posted a short video on Instagram wearing a wrestling singlet as he showcased his sprawl to defend a takedown along with a caption that said “back to work.”

Because he lost after predicting a knockout victory, O’Malley had to know he was going to hear it from his biggest critics, which included boxer Devin Haney.

“O’Malley b*tch ass lost,” Haney wrote on Twitter.

While he probably wasn’t in the mood to hear it, O’Malley still took time to fire back at Haney with a reminder about what would happen if they ever actually fought.

“Still kill you,” O’Malley wrote in response.

O’Malley leaves Las Vegas without his title but he remains one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster so it probably won’t take long for him to get back into contention with another win or two.

For now he’s going to regroup and figure out where it all went wrong after losing on Saturday night.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

submitted by /u/inooway
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

This Saturday, the UFC goes where it’s never gone before: the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Hailed as a revolutionary new venue for fan experience, the UFC brought a special card that Dana White has promised will be “the greatest live sporting event of all-time,” and in the UFC 306 main event, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley puts his title on the line against No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili.

Pulling off the upset over Dvalishvili’s friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling to claim the bantamweight title at UFC 292, “Suga” made his first successful title defense earlier this year, avenging a previous loss to Chito Vera with a one-sided shellacking in the main event of UFC 299. Now he looks to cement himself as the best 135-pound fighter on Earth with a similar performance against Dvalishvili.

Viewed by some as the uncrowned king at 135 pounds, Dvalishvili is currently on an impressive 10-fight win streak, dating back to 2018. A win over former champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 earlier this year cemented Dvalishvili’s place atop the bantamweight contenders, and now he looks to avenge his teammate and create his own legacy at 35 pounds.

Check out the UFC 306 main event live blog below.

Prefight:

Main event time. What more can they do in the Sphere for the main event?

Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic gets made official before we get the walkouts. Hopefully, the next two months fly by.

So, this last graphic thing on the Sphere is kind of weird. Very CGI movie-ish. At least the start of it was. I will say, I’m glad the pacing hasn’t felt impacted at all by this spectacle. That might be just me though.

The background takes a night city theme as Dvalishvili makes his way to the octagon.

Superstar by Lupe Fiasco plays on the speakers for O’Malley and they have definitely made him feel like one with this entrance.

Round 1:

Reluctant touch of the gloves from O’Malley. Here we are. Main event.

O’Malley instantly presses Dvalishvili. Very bizarre instant stop in the action from Herb Dean. No idea what happened there. No explanation.

Good inside leg kick from Dvalishvili. Spinning wheel kick misses from O’Malley. Body punch lands for O’Malley. It sounds like Tim Welch might be saying things to Merab or something. This is weird. Warning from Dean to Welch.

Nice head kick from Dvalishvili gets blocked but was heavy. Jab from O’Malley. One-two just misses for O’Malley. Good straight left from O’Malley. First takedown from Dvalishvili lands O’Malley gets up relatively quick but takes some punches in the process. Dvalishvili doing his thing and drags O’Mallet back down and knees the thigh. Big punch on the break from Dvalishvili.

Right hand for O’Malley leads to a single-leg takedown from Dvalishvili. They scramble, Dvalishvili goes in on a guillotine but they roll and he loses it. They stand against the cage and break. Horn sounds.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Round 2:

Apparently, Welch was getting warned for “excessive coaching.”

The fighters feel out the first minute of this round. O’Malley connects with a long straight right to the body. Merab tries to jab his way in. O’Malley can’t seem to find his usual comfort on the feet as he gets taken down again. They work from full guard.

O’Malley teases with an omaplata attempt but doesn’t commit. He switches to a triangle then grabs Dvalishvili’s glove and gets yelled at by Dean like a father to his son. Silly time in the officiating department in this one. Right back to guard they go.

O’Malley rolls to his stomach to give up his back and take some punches as he gets pushed to the cage wall. More knees to the thigh land for Dvalishvili. Another guillotine tease from Dvalishvili closes the round before he let go and claimed O’Malley kissed him? I think? This got weird. O’Malley tries to land some punches late. Horn sounds.

MMA Fighting scores the fight 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Round 3:

A slow start to the round bleeds the first minute. O’Malley keeps connecting with shots to the body when he has found success at this low volume. Body kicks and punches. He throws a right hook but can’t land.

Dvalishvili attacks with a speedy shot and slams O’Malley into the cage before a takedown attempt. Dvalishvili lands some nice knees to the head while he holds a guillotine grip but O’Malley shakes it off and breaks away.

O’Malley just barely misses with a knee up the middle that probably gave Chito Vera flashbacks. Leg kicks inside land for Dvalishvili. Flurry of leg kicks for Dvalishvili land. Left straight seems to graze through on Dvalishvili but he eats it well. Good right straight and knee connect on Dvalishvili before the horn sounds. Much closer effort from “Sugar.”

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Round 4:

Good pair of body punches land for O’Malley. He’s trying to find a way to tire Dvalishvili but it truly may not be possible.

Dvalishvili tries to punch his way into a takedown but eats some smalls shots for his trouble. Big, well-timed takedown lands for Dvalishvili in the inner-area of the octagon. Dvalishvili works from half-guard.

Dean warns Dvalishvili to work when he clearly is landing punches and elbows. Big breath taken from O’Malley while on bottom. O’Malley manages to roll to his knees as Dvalishvili holds a grip around his waist and they move toward the cage. Knees to the thigh, punches to the ears. Clockwork for “The Machine.”

30 seconds, another guillotine position for Dvalishvili. Stats show he’s outstruck O’Malley 61-6 before a big flurry at the end of the round.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Round 5:

O’Malley needs the hail mary but he looked spent between rounds.

Dean instantly claps for work 30 seconds into the round. Rough night for him.

Big overhand right followed by the blast double land for Dvalishvili. Backs him to the cage, more knees to the thigh from Dvalishvili. Overwhelming as always from Georgia’s finest.

Official Decision:

Post-fight:

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC