UFC 306 results: Biggest winners and losers from last night’s O’Malley vs. Merab

UFC 306 took place last night (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024) inside the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the promotion’s second Noche UFC event, which was a visual spectacle that impressed on all fronts. The main act was Merab Dvalishvili dethroned Sean O’Malley from the top of the bantamweight rankings with a dominant unanimous decision victory. In the co-main event Alexa Grasso lost her women’s flyweight belt after being completely dominated by Valentina Shevchenkowho is once again the 125-pound champion.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Biggest winner: Merab Dvalishvili

“The Machine” finally fulfilled his dream of a UFC championship by completely smothering and dominating Sean O’Malley to win the bantamweight title. “Suga” had no answer to Dvalishvili’s pace and wrestled… nothing. Not only was O’Malley’s defense lacking, but so was his offense, as the former champion could never get anything going. But it was all due to Dvalishvili’s smothering fighting style, which allowed him to knock out “Suga” and dictate the pace of the fight for 25 minutes. That’s now 11 wins in a row for “The Machine,” who can now likely look forward to a tough test against… Omar Nurmagomedov in his first title defense.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Second place: Valentina Shevchenko

“Bullet” turned back the clock and delivered a top-notch performance, absolutely dominating Grasso to once again become the women’s flyweight champion. Shevchenko looked fresh and rejuvenated and was strong on offense. Her wrestling was on point, taking Grasso down eight times in 12 attempts and controlling the action on the ground for nearly 15 minutes. Not only did she get revenge, she more than made amends for herself, as most felt she won the rematch, which ultimately ended in a draw. Shevchenko is back and in a big way.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Honorable Mention: Diego Lopes

Diego Lopez’ Stocks just keep growing after every fight. It received another big boost after he took it and dominated the No. 3 ranked fighter at 145 pounds Brian Ortega. Early in the first round, it looked like Lopes was well on his way to a quick finish after surprising “T-City” with a nasty two-punch combination. Although Ortega recovered and kept fighting, Lopes pretty much took control of the fight from there, eventually knocking his opponent down again in the third and final round. Lopes should be in the top five next week, meaning he’s one step closer to a title shot after picking up his fifth consecutive win inside the Octagon.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Biggest Loser: Alexa Grasso and Sean O’ Malley

There were several moments in the co-main event where Grasso just looked like she wanted nothing to do with the fight. She seemed disinterested, unconcerned (not in a good way), and when she finally showed emotion, it was frustration. And it was all because Shevchenko dominated her in every aspect of the combat sport. She schooled her in stand-up and gave her a master class in how to execute takedowns with ease. Grasso had no answer for “Bullet,” and her lackluster performance cost her the belt she worked so hard for. While she had some shining moments on her back, the problem was that she was on her back from the start… a lot. Now the Mexican-born former champion has to get back in the lab and work her way back up, because after this loss, another fight against Shevchenko is not in the cards. Now, I don’t want to attack Grasso and “Suga” just for giving up their titles, but because both of them didn’t offer much resistance to the people who took their belts away from them. O’Malley’s attack was nonexistent, while his opponent Dvalshvili showed more urgency as he was running at full speed. It was truly an uninspired performance from O’Malley, who will now have to regroup as he faces even tougher challenges in this talent-rich weight class.

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