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Card Info
Airing on Saturday 09.14.2024 at 12:00 PM
Main Card on MAX
Division
Fighters
Featherweight
Leah McCourt vs. Sara Collins
Light Heavyweight
Simeon Powell vs. Rafael Xavier
Light Heavyweight
Luke Trainer vs. Laurynas Urbonavicius
Lightweight
Marc Diakiese vs. Tim Wilde
Lightweight
Archie Colgan vs. Manoel Sousa
Middleweight
Mike Shipman vs. Eslam Abdul Baset
Catchweight (175)
Joseph Luciano vs. Steven Hill
Bantamweight
Ciaran Clarke vs. Zebenzui Ruiz
Lightweight
Darragh Kelly vs. Dmytrii Hrytsenko
Featherweight
Eman Almudhaf vs. Daiane Silva
Fight card order and start times may be inaccurate.
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Laura Sanko feels that the Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili bantamweight title fight won’t see the scorecards.
O’Malley and Dvalishvili will headline Saturday’s UFC 306 card at Sphere in Las Vegas. Dvalishvili has earned his opportunity after a double-digit win streak, while O’Malley looks to defend his title for the second time since stopping Dvalishvili’s teammate Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292.
The UFC analyst and color commentator is fascinated by the matchup, but can see the fight ending early.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Merab wins, that’s certainly not what I’m here to say,” Sanko told MMA Fighting. “But I do favor a shorter fight, and that, to me, tells me that Sean O’Malley has found his moments to move and be a sniper.
“I do think that we will know very quickly in this fight what it’s going to look like. That’s not to say that I think, necessarily, that Sean is going to knock him out early, [although] that’s certainly a possibility. It’s a very good possibility.
“The other possibility is that Merab starts really putting a pace on Sean, and we see Sean struggle to get his lateral movement going, and all of the things that allow him to express himself on the feet. I just think we’re going to know pretty early what direction this train leaves the station.”
O’Malley is being positioned as one of the promotion’s top stars as he prepares to headline his second pay-per-view card of 2024. “Suga” has been pushed as a top guy since earning his contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.
On the flip side, Dvalishvili has had to scratch and claw to earn his first championship opportunity. While not always revered by the fanbase, things have certainly changed in that department over the past couple of years — including the surprisingly long history between the challenger and O’Malley.
“The rise of Merab has been more of a crock pot rise, a little bit more of a slow cook on that one,” Sanko explained. “I love watching him figure out what works for him though, he has found a way to reach into the hearts of an American audience that probably didn’t feel all that connected to him when he first stepped inside of the octagon.
“At the same time that his fighting has continued to get better and better and better, and his competitors have gotten better and better and better, and his wins have gotten better and better and better. He has also become more likeable, and more engaging. It’s just really hard not to root for someone who is so gregarious, and likable. And that jacket moment? I’m sorry, there’s just no way you can even try to plan something like that out. It had to be organic. It was so perfect.”
There are many layers stylistically between O’Malley and Dvalishvili the further you dig, but to most fans, this appears to be the classic striker vs. grappler matchup.
Sanko is fascinated by the types of intangibles both bring to the table. On the challenger side, the wild, never-stop cardio and pace he brings to the table, and his ability to demoralize his competition. With the champion, it’s movement, being coachable, and excellent fight IQ.
“If there was a Mount Rushmore of pace, I promise you Merab Dvalishvili would be on it,” Sanko said. “It is a weapon in it of itself that not only allows you to take the fight where you want it to go, but it completely shuts down the decision making that your opponent is allowed to do. Merab’s particular style of approaching grappling is not necessarily to get the takedown, get a dominant position and do damage… he can do that, for sure. I’m not saying that’s not a goal of his. But one of the things that he is, I think, the best in the world at, is almost allowing guys to get back up, and then take them down again, and then they kind of scramble up, and then take them down again. If you talk to any fighter, that up-down pace is the hardest pace of all to master.
“That being said, I do think that Sean O’Malley has one of the best coaches for him in the entire world. I think that he and Tim [Welch] are the perfect pair, and I think that they’re incredibly intelligent in the way that they prepare for these fights, and they wouldn’t have asked for it if they didn’t feel like Sean was prepared to get through those moments where he would have time to operate in space, use his footwork — he’s got some of the best footwork in the entire UFC. That’s a fact, and I’ve been saying that forever.”
Noche UFC 306 featured prelim fighter Irene Aldana when she fought at UFC 289. | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Reminder: We will deliver live round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of Noche UFC 306’s entire five-fight pay-per-view (PPV) main card RIGHT HERE, beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is posted up at the Las Vegas SPHERE for Noche UFC 306TONIGHT (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024), streaming LIVE on ESPN+ PPV. UFC 306’s pay-per-view (PPV) main event has Sean O’Malleyvs. Merab Dvalishvili fighting it out for ‘Suga’s UFC Bantamweight title. The co-main event sees Alexa Grasso defend her Flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko.
The Noche UFC 306 “Prelims” are headlined by Mexico’s Irene Aldana. She’ll be taking on Brazilian Norma Dumont. The Prelims also include Manuel Torres vs. Ignacio Bahamondes, Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza and Edgar Chairez vs. Joshua Van. Raul Rosas Jr. opens up the show for us with his fight against Aoriqileng.
So, before UFC 306’s PPV action began live at 10 p.m. ET this evening, MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of the entire UFC 306 “Prelims” undercard below, beginning with the first fight at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNNEWS/ESPN+. We are covering UFC 306’s PPV main card in a separate thread right here, beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
UFC 306 START TIME AND DATE
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 306 – Riyadh Season Noche UFC fight card below, starting with the ESPNNEWS/ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts, which air at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the UFC 306’s PPV main card which will start at 10 p.m ET on ESPN+ PPV, with play-by-play updates here.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili.” Without further delay, see below for the updated UFC 306 results. (Note: This will go from the top down; therefore, the newest information will at the top of the stream).
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesRaul Rosas Jr. will open the show at the Sphere tonight.
UFC 306 QUICK RESULTS
135 lbs.: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili 125 lbs.: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 145 lbs.: Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes 155 lbs.: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics 125 lbs.: Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode Osbourne 135 lbs.: Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont 155 lbs.: Manuel Torres vs. Ignacio Bahamondes 115 lbs.: Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza 125 lbs.: Edgar Chairez vs. Joshua Van 135 lbs.: Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoirqileng
UFC 306 ‘PRELIMS’ PLAY-BY-PLAY UPDATES
The Sphere hosts UFC 306 this evening.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 306: “O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili headline UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
The UFC 306 start time, fight card, and TV schedule for the Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili event at Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday night is below.
The fight card is broken into three different parts and airs on multiple mediums. This post helps explain which fights are airing where and at which times.
The event kicks off with a five-fight preliminary card 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, headlined by a bantamweight bout between Irene Aldana and Norma Dumont.
Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
Joshua Van vs. Edgar Chairez
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng
The ESPN+ pay-per-view begins at 10 p.m. ET and is headlined by UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili. Flyweight champion Alexa Grasso takes on Valentina Shevchenko in a trilogy bout in the co-main event.
Elle Brooke will battle Jenny Savage in the Misfits Boxing 18 main event Saturday. | Misfits Boxing
MMA Fighting has Misfits Boxing 18 results and more for the Brooke vs. Savage fight card at Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England, on Saturday afternoon.
In the main event, Elle Brooke puts her Misfits Boxing women’s middleweight title on the line against former BKFC title challenger Jenny Savage, who will be making her Misfits Boxing debut.
The card also features the opening round of the Stake pro tournament, which includes a matchup between former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz protege Chris Avila, along with Idris Virgo battling Fes Batista.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
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