UFC President Dana White unhappy after the fight results of Noche UFC 306

UFC 306 was a spectacle! It was the first time the Sphere in Las Vegas hosted a major fight. The aesthetics of UFC 306 lived up to the billing however the fights didn’t according to UFC President Dana White. “Some people probably tuned in for the first time. Hopefully they turned it off before the co-main event and they’re big fans now.” Ouch, then when asked about the notion that Saturday's fights didn't live up to the spectacle or production value of the event, White said, "You can put up $20 million worth of production, but you can't control the fights. They are what they are. I cannot let that drive me crazy." 

The actual results of UFC 306 saw two titles change hands, In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili ended Sean O'Malley's title reign. Meanwhile, in the co-main event of Noche UFC, Valentina Shevchenko regained the UFC women's flyweight title from the woman who ended her first title reign, Alexa Grasso. Dvalishvili and Shevchenko followed the same game plan on their way to victory at UFC 306. The strategy was to use takedowns and ground control to negate the striking of their opponents. Both fighters executed that approach to perfection.

Dvalishvili used constant movement, six takedowns and just over 10 minutes of control time to prevent O'Malley’s offense. It was a dominant performance that lacked the fireworks fans expected after witnessing a highly produced spectacle of an event. O”Malley has been billed as UFC’s next star and White had words of disappointment for O’Malley.  “He looked flat. He didn’t look sharp. He didn’t look crisp until the last round,” White said at the UFC 306 post-fight press conference. “He hurt him with that body shot. He knew he hurt him with the body shot and kept going, trying to finish. I looked at the punch stats and there were like six in a couple of rounds.”

The co-main event ended in similar fashion. Valentina Shevchenko used her takedowns and control to take Alexa Grasso out of the fight. Her dominance in the wrestling department allowed her to feel comfortable not taking any chances or employing high-risk techniques. Shevchenko scored eight takedowns on 12 attempts while racking up 16:04 of control time. She also landed 56 percent of her significant strikes. Both fights were shutouts. 

White’s disappointment  had much to do with his promise. He promised it would be "the greatest live combat sports show anybody has ever seen" and was undoubtedly the biggest production in UFC history. Taking place at Sphere, a $2.3 billion venue with a massive 160,000-square-foot interior display plane, the budget for Saturday's event exceeded $20 million, according to White.Afterward, White said the promotion "showed everybody tonight what's possible at the Sphere" and predicted the event would garner a handful of Emmy Awards.