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Dana White isn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for Oscar De La Hoya.

In a recent Instagram video, De La Hoya continued his rivalry with boxing star Canelo Alvarez while stating that he plans to attend UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas this Saturday. The event runs the same evening as Alvarez’s upcoming bout with Edgar Berlanga, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena just 10 minutes up the road.

De La Hoya, the Golden Boy Promotions founder who has had a long-running feud with Alvarez, called the champion’s bout with Berlanga a “snoozefest” on paper and added, “It’s just robbery at this point.” He then announced that he is choosing the UFC over boxing this weekend.

“I’ll actually be attending at the UFC event at the Sphere instead,” De La Hoya said. “Now, I love the sport of boxing more than anything. I will be watching boxing matches anywhere and anytime. Even if it’s a simple sparring session or two bums fighting in the street.

“So the idea I’m choosing to attend the UFC and support Dana White instead of Canelo tells you everything you need to know.”

De La Hoya and White have hardly been the best of friends over the years, with the two frequently butting heads in public. As recently as 2022, White said that he was doubtful that he and De La Hoya “can ever be friends again.”

In an interview with Grind City Media, White was asked if he’d heard about De La Hoya potentially attending UFC 306. He answered that he was aware of the clip, but that as far as he knows, his team isn’t making any special preparations for the boxing legend’s arrival.

“I don’t know where he’s getting his tickets from, but he definitely isn’t getting them from me,” White said. “I don’t know if he’s coming with [Turki Alalshikh] or what his deal is, but yeah, I saw it.

“It’s him trying to shit on Canelo, and I said it a million times, I respect Canelo. I like Canelo. Met him, he’s a nice guy. I’m saying that that night, we’re talking about the history of Mexico and the history of the people and their traditions and the impact that they’ve had on combat sports. Somebody said to me, ‘So you’ll be celebrating Canelo that night?’ Yes, we are. Canelo is a big part, he’s a big part of the night. Julio Cesar Chavez, Salvador Sanchez, how are you going to do all the baddest dudes that have ever come out of Mexico and not talk about Canelo too?”

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Cain Velasquez is set to be sentenced by a judge in California after pleading no-contest to a variety of charges including attempted murder.

The ex-UFC heavyweight champion is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 18 for his sentencing after his trial was originally set to begin on Monday. The 42-year-old avoided the trial now faces anything from probation to a life sentence as punishment, although the latter is highly unlikely given Velasquez’s plea deal with prosecutors.

In the original statement addressing Velasquez’s decision to plead no-contest, which basically means he’s accepting punishment in the case without actually admitting guilt, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office stated specifically that “he faces prison time.”

Assuming the sentencing moves ahead as scheduled without being reset for a later date, Velasquez will soon find out his fate after he was first arrested all the way back in February 2022. He was detained and charged following an 11-mile high speed car chase going after a vehicle that contained Harry Goularte, a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare owned by Goularte’s mother.

Velasquez fired several rounds from a .40-caliber handgun at the vehicle, which resulted in struck Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender being struck in the arm. He sustained non-life threatening injuries as a result.

When the car chase ended, Velasquez was arrested without incident by the Morgan Hill Police Department and he was hit with a multitude of charges that kept him behind bars for the eight months before he was eventually granted bail.

Following Velasquez’s arrest, the district attorney stated that the former fighter’s search history on his phone revealed “searches for ‘sexual assault case where victims family fights back’” and “sexual assault cases where victims family retaliates.”

“This defendant decided to become judge, jury, and executioner,” Santa Clara County district attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “His actions endangered innocent bystanders, including young children and their parents who could have been injured or killed as he shot at his intended victim. We have excellent law enforcement in this county. Let them do their jobs.”

Since being released, Velasquez has returned to coaching at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., where he’s continued to work and even corner fighters competing in promotions like the UFC and Bellator.

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A real shame
| BJPenn.com

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight scrappers Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes will go to war this weekend (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024) at UFC 306 from inside The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Both Ortega and Lopes did UFC a huge favorite by stepping up on short-notice to save UFC 303 after Conor McGregor broke his pinky toe and was forced to withdraw from the main event (seriously). Unfortunately, Ortega is a huge Featherweight, and the attempts to make 145 pounds on short-notice made him ill and ended up canceling the fight entirely (details here).

Lopes stuck around to heroically fight Dan Ige on a few hour’s notice (not exaggerating), lining up the duo for this rescheduled match up on one of the biggest cards of the year. Lopes has the opportunity to break into the title mix, whereas Ortega can make an argument that he’s ready for his second UFC title shot.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images

Ortega vs. Lopes Betting Odds

• Brian Ortega victory: +145
• Brian Ortega via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Brian Ortega via submission: TBD
• Brian Ortega via decision: TBD
• Diego Lopes victory: -175
• Diego Lopes via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Diego Lopes via submission: TBD
• Diego Lopes via decision: TBD
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Ortega Wins

Ortega is one of the most opportunistic fighters in the game. If he senses any weakness in his opponents, he has a true gift for snatching finishes out of thin air both on the floor and on the feet. Ortega is also one of the most durable men in the business, capable of taking a monstrous beating and still coming back big.

I would not advise playing the role of nail versus Lopes, however. The Brazilian seems to hit seriously hard, possibly hard enough to crack Ortega’s legendary chin. Ortega doesn’t really have the defense to not get hit entirely, so he would be wise to meet fire with fire and step to Lopes with confidence.

Ortega is dangerous in the pocket too and has a knack for timing hard counter shots. He can stand toe-to-toe with Lopes, but ultimately, top control might be his best path. If Ortega can survive the early wildness, he could replicate Evloev and Ige’s success in dragging Lopes to the floor late. Unlike the Russian wrestler, however, Ortega has the grappling to advance position and perhaps threaten Lopes with his submissions.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Lopes Wins

In just a few fights, Lopes has proven himself one of the best offensive talents in the sport. He’s just vicious everywhere: from his back, in the clinch, at distance, and in the pocket. Large and athletic for the division, Lopes is growing increasingly confident in his ability to just blow opponents out of the water.

Perhaps that happens here, but it wouldn’t be wise to bet on a first-round finish of the inhumanly tough Ortega. There is a real risk that Lopes cracks Ortega, empties his gas tank trying to finish “T-City,” then has to deal with an undeterred Ortega for several more rounds.

That’s a situation to be avoided, which means managing energy levels. In general, Lopes’ victory hinges on his ability to make good choices against an elite opponent. He’s got the tools to do a ton of damage, but he has to pick and choose when to engage and when to circle off. Similarly, he doesn’t want to get too submission-happy and end up on bottom repeatedly.

A touch of patience will go a long way for the action fighter.

Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images

Ortega vs. Lopes Prediction

I still don’t feel like I have a full read on Lopes’ ability. Going 15 minutes with Ige certainly helped fill-in some gaps, but it was also such a bizarre circumstance that who really knows how much we can trust that information.

All the same, I have a difficult time seeing the first five minutes going well for Ortega. Lopes is an offensive dynamo, and Ortega’s face seems like a magnet for damage. Two questions arise though: can Lopes finish him with his first-round onslaught, and if not, what does the rest of the fight look like?

I expect Ortega to be bloodied but still swinging come round two. How does Lopes handle that? We’ve seen plenty of prospects crumble when veterans refuse to go away. Still, I have confidence Lopes can hold it together. He may be just 29 years old, but Lopes is not some fresh-faced rookie. The man has 30 professional fights, including one that went five rounds. He shouldn’t be shocked if the finish refuses to materialize, and he was able to endure some bad spots and big punches against Ige without coming undone.

Again, it’ll likely come down to patience and shot selection, but Lopes seems like a cerebral fighter who understands his path to victory. So long as he manages the gas tank, he should be able to stay a step ahead of “T-City.”

Prediction: Lopes via decision (odds not yet released)

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 306 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 306: “O’Malley vs. Merab” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean O’Malley has already silenced plenty of doubters on his rise to the top. Can he do it one more time against arguably the biggest challenge of his career?

The main event of UFC 306 sees O’Malley defend his bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili, a relentless grinder who has defeated 10 straight opponents. Dvalishvili’s grappling expertise is expected to be O’Malley’s kryptonite and all the pressure is on the colorful champion to prove once again that his game is worthy of the fame.

MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee, Mike Heck, and Jed Meshew make their best guess as to where O’Malley will be—and where his career might be headed—come Sunday morning, plus we predict whether the Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko will reach a satisfying conclusion, and how the UFC plans to deliver in its heavily hyped debut at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images

1. Fill in the blank: After UFC 306, Sean O’Malley is ______

Meshew: The biggest active star in the UFC.

Coming off Contender Series, O’Malley had all the promise in the world and the potential to be “the next Conor McGregor” but the question was would he get there? McGregor was an exceptional talent but he also ran hotter than the Sun for several years, creating a perfect storm of stardom. Could O’Malley do the same? Well, thus far, he has.

Though O’Malley had a rocky road at points, over the past few years, the man has been pitching straight gas. Beating Petr Yan as a big underdog, upsetting Aljamain Sterling to claim the belt, and then dog-walking rival Chito Vera were all big wins, but beating the guy many believe to be the best bantamweight on Earth, and doing it at “the greatest live sporting event of all time”? That’s how you cross over into the mainstream.

And I think he’s going to do it. Don’t get me wrong, if Merab comes in and Merabs him, I won’t be shocked, but the more I’ve thought about this fight, the more I think O’Malley is prepared for it. Merab is imminently hittable and that’s a bad start fighting O’Malley, plus O’Malley is extremely good at controlling range. I think Merab is going to have a lot of difficulty scoring takedowns and thus be stranded on the feet getting plunked up for a lot of the fight, until O’Malley finds the big KO shot, and then the “Suga” Show really begins.

Heck: Calling out the Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway winner.

Much like Mr. No Grey Area just laid out, the promotional push that this event has received — and will get even more during fight week — is not something other cards get. In fact, this has gotten more attention from the UFC than UFC 300, and it’s not all that close. O’Malley is the face of the card even though it’s a “love letter” to Mexican combat sports, and that seemed to be the plan from jump street.

I think O’Malley matches up really well with Dvalishvili, and there’s a vast difference between a fighter who is talking crap and a fighter who is so confident that they know something we don’t. “Suga” has that aura to him, while Dvalishvili, as good as he is, has put a whole lot of extra pressure on himself.

If O’Malley runs through Dvalishvili, what he says on that microphone after that moment becomes the story of the weekend. He called for Topuria after his win over Marlon Vera, there’s no doubt he’s going call for it again — along with Holloway for good measure — should he get his hand raised to close the show.

Lee: Humbled.

O’Malley earned his stripes the hard way, despite what his detractors might say. He got the Snoop Dogg rub on Contender Series and that built up plenty of hype, but he still had to deliver the goods in the octagon and he did that with flying colors, dazzling fans with his exciting striking style before picking up quality wins over Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling to prove he’s the real deal.

He deserves to be at the top, which is going to make the fall hurt that much more.

On paper, Dvalishvili is O’Malley’s worst nightmare. A non-stop cardio machine with great wrestling and zero Fs to give, he could potentially smash O’Malley in the first round or just put him through hell for 25 minutes. Sure, O’Malley could lay him out with one good shot, but imagine how badly the champion’s confidence will be shaken if he connects early and Dvalishvili just shrugs it off. There are levels to this and it’s possible that Dvalishvili is one above everyone else at 135 pounds, including O’Malley.

The brash O’Malley likes to boast that he’s undefeated, shrugging off a loss to Chito Vera that was in part due to injury and one he later avenged convincingly at UFC 299. He’ll be considerably less brash after Dvalishvili is through with him.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

2. Will Alexa Grasso or Valentina Shevchenko definitively shut the door on their rivalry?

Heck: Nah, probably not.

I had Shevchenko winning the second fight, and she has a far better chance than the MMA community seems to be giving her to win the trilogy. If she wins, there’s zero chance we don’t see it again. It may not be next, but we’ll certainly see it one more time.

If Grasso wins, but doesn’t do it in one-sided fashion, I still think there could be room for one more. Even if she does, I wouldn’t rule it out completely. Heck (that’s me), if Max Holloway wins the featherweight title, he could find himself in a fourth fight with Alexander Volkanovski.

Some rivalries just never have a full-on expiration date. This seems to be one of those.

Lee: First of all, TUF NEVER DIE, obviously.

Second, this rivalry is ready to come to an end, one way or the other.

As thrilling as the first two contests have been, Saturday’s co-main event winner should be able to put a stamp on this trilogy barring the competitors going haywire. If Grasso wins, she will hold a comfortable 2-0-1 lead over Shevchenko; if Shevchenko wins, she can make the case that she has two wins in the series given the controversial draw in their second fight. I’d love to see another rematch, but I also want a lineup of worthy contenders get their day in court.

Consider also that the losing fighter has options.

Grasso, five years Shevchenko’s junior, still has plenty of big fights ahead of her in the 125-pound division and should be remain in title contention for years to come. It’s possible she could even find a greater rival than Shevchenko. Should Shevchenko lose, a return to bantamweight seems like the obvious move, especially given that she’d be favored over almost any opponent in that weight class.

All roads have led to Grasso vs. Shevchenko 3 delivering the goods in terms of drama, emotion, skill, and, most importantly, a definitive winner at last.

Meshew: Look, we all know what happened to me the first time these two fought. It wasn’t good.

So when I say what I’m about to, you know that I mean it from the bottom of my heart: Grasso already won this rivalry.

In the first fight, Shevchenko was well on her way to winning an uninspiring decision when Grasso caught her slipping and finished it with the Submission of the Year. Then in the rematch, Grasso should have won the fight, but then somehow stole a draw (the judging was almost transparently dodgy). It wasn’t as definitive as the first time, but through almost 45 minutes of fighting, Grasso has been the better fighter.

Now, heading into their trilogy, Grasso is still in the prime of her career and Shevchenko is 36 and clearly beyond her best days. She’s good enough to not get blown out, but all signs point to Grasso winning again, which we should all be happy about. Flyweight is the best division in women’s MMA and for the past 18 months it has been held up by this one matchup, while other contenders, like Manon Fiorot, emerged.

Grasso closes the door and it’s on to new business.

Photo by David Becker – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

3. What do you hope to see with the Sphere production?

Meshew: The thing about the UFC is, it’s creatively bankrupt. The product has been functionally the same, production-wise, for nearly a decade. There might be one or two new bells or whistles every once in awhile (or when the UFC changes broadcast partners) but it’s all the same. Remember when Dana White promised “Fight Island” would be this insanely cool thing and then he just did UFC APEX shows in Abu Dhabi? That’s what I’m talking about.

So given that, my expectations for Noche UFC 2.0 aren’t high. I’m half-expecting the big reveal to simply be Gladiator Man in Sphere. But I hope I’m wrong because this is an opportunity for them to do something cool. Like what? I have no idea. I’ve been promised the greatest sporting event of all time. Dazzle me. Make me say, “I didn’t even know that was possible.”

Heck: Sorry, Jed, but consider yourself pre-dazzled.

There’s no f’ing way this doesn’t deliver in the, “Holy shit, that’s crazy” department. UFC 300 was a grand slam, and the MMA media knew it would be, which is why we all put it over as the best card on paper, while the promotion put forth one hell of an effort on fight week and on fight night to make it feel like it was this incredible, can’t-miss event. And boy, was it.

As impressive as all that was, it pales in comparison to what they’ve been trying to do with this card. Sure, the ticket prices are criminal, but this is also about the televised live sports-watching experience. I just don’t see a way that we’re looking at this event and thinking, “Eh, this is just OK.” I think this is going to be freaking cool as hell, and being the production geek that I am, I’m so intrigued about how this is going to look.

There’s always a “but” though, right? Here’s mine. Much like UFC 300, we missed it immediately. Once the awful, no-effort APEX cards, and business-as-usual approach returned, we knew it was a short shelf life of fun and extra effort. I think we’re going to be feeling the hangover from that aspect for quite some time after UFC 306, no matter how good some of the fights are for the rest of 2024.

Lee: As always, leave it to me to be planted firmly on the fence with the most levelheaded take of all.

For those lucky enough to be in attendance, it should be a life-changing experience; for those of us watching at home, expect a standard UFC show with a few memorable visual tricks and plenty of shiny things to gawk at. So it is both true and not true that this will be the greatest sports spectacle of all time. It is Schrodinger’s Sphere.

Even if you consider Sphere to be one big, expensive gimmick, it feels like it’s a gimmick everyone should check out once as the people behind the scenes have produced some incredible optical illusions that simply cannot be replicated by any other venue. Mileage may vary on how much these tricks will actually enhance the fight night experience, but it can’t be worse than sitting in the nosebleeds and staring at a screen for most of the night. The in-venue atmosphere promises to be uniquely immersive.

I just have no clue how this will translate through television. Yes, clips from the Sphere often catch the eye when they make the rounds on social media, but personally, I’ve never watched one without thinking, “Boy, I bet that looks really cool if you’re actually there.” This is especially true when it comes to the fights themselves, which should feature bog-standard UFC production (seriously, would you want them to be switching to random shots of Sphere images in the middle of a fight?).

As a proud house mouse, you’ll rarely hear me complain about not going to a live event. But I can’t lie, whatever they show of the Sphere will likely leave me wanting more and experiencing a rare case of FOMMMA (Fear of Missing Mixed Martial Arts).

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Fight week for the UFC 306 (Noche UFC) pay-per-view this Saturday night has kicked off with the release of the promotion’s latest Countdown episode. Under the spotlight in this edition is the headliner between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili and the co-main event between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko. Saturday’s lineup is topped by an intriguing championship clash, […]

Continue Reading VIDEO: UFC 306 Countdown Episode Ahead Of Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili & Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3 at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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