Sean O’Malley vs Merab Devalishvili to headline UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas

Las Vegas’s iconic Sphere has been a featured attraction in Las Vegas since September of 2023. It has never headlined a major combat fight. Come this September that will change as the UFC will bring UFC 306 to the state-of-the-art new venue. Friday UFC CEO Dana White announced the full fight card for Sept. 14, which will be headlined with a bantamweight title bout between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. UFC women's flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko will fight for a third time in the co-main event.

This is a big deal for men’s bantamweight champion Sean O”Malley as he’s starting to establish himself as one of the biggest faces of the UFC and headlining such an event on an iconic night is a huge vote of confidence from the UFC. O'Malley first claimed the bantamweight title belt with a TKO victory over Aljamain Sterling last fall. He successfully defended that title with a unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera in March. O’Malley will enter his fight against Dvalishvili with an 18-1 record with 12 KOs. He's won six straight fights dating back to 2021.

Dvalishvili has been a thorn in the champ's side for some time. The two had a brief run in a few years ago when the challenger stole O’Malley’s jacket. The two also had a backstage situation after UFC 299.  Dvalishvili has been trending toward a title fight for quite some time. He's on an incredible 10-fight win streak dating back to 2018, and he last beat Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision at UFC 298 earlier this year. Dvalishvili holds a 17-4 record with three KOs in his career.

The co-main event will feature Alexa Grasso defending her women's flyweight title against former champion  Valenrina Shevchenko. The two women are currently the two head coaches for the Ultimate Fighter competition.  This will mark the third straight fight between the two. Grasso beat Shevchenko to claim the flyweight belt first in March 2023 with a fourth-round submission, and then she defended that title in a rematch that ended in a draw last fall. Grasso will enter with a 16-3-1 record. Shevchenko held the title for years before her first loss to Grasso. Shevchenko holds a 23-4-1 record with eight KOs