UFC featherweight champion Sean O’Malley and flyweight champion Alexa Grasso defend their belts Saturday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV) in a venue the UFC has never seen before and may never see again. UFC 306 will take place at The Sphere in Las Vegas, where fighters will enter the Octagon surrounded by hundreds of millions of pixels.
The main event will see one of the UFC’s most dangerous fighters, O’Malley, take on Merab Dvalishvili, who is currently on a 10-fight winning streak. O’Malley won the featherweight belt against Aljamain Sterling and defended it against Marlon Vera, but Dvalishvili could be his biggest challenge before he can be considered one of the UFC’s elite fighters.
As of Saturday afternoon, the fight at BetMGM was a pick-em.
Grasso, meanwhile, will continue her trilogy against Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event. She surprised Shevchenko with the title last year, retaining it in her first title defense via a split draw, but the UFC decided to give the former champion one more shot at her old title. Grasso is currently a -130 favorite.
The entire card will be Mexican-themed, with every non-main event bout featuring a fighter of Mexican descent as part of the UFC’s “Noche UFC” promotion. The theme will be featured extensively on the Sphere’s video screen, but the $20 million venue has prompted UFC President Dana White to explain that it will be a one-off promotion.
Follow all the action in Perth with our live tracker below.
UFC 306 Live Tracker
Live3 updates
UFC 306: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Saturday, September 14, 2024 – Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada
Main Card (Start Time 10:00 PM ET, ESPN+ PPV)
Preliminary round (start 8:00 p.m. ET, ESPNEWS/ESPN+)
Early Preliminary Fights (Start Time 7:30pm ET, ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass)
