A 10-fight card at UFC 306 in Las Vegas, Nevada, was headlined by Sphere — the dynamic venue that hosted its first live sporting contest on Saturday. On the marquee were two title fights, as Merab Dvalishvili and Valentina Shevchenko emerged victorious as champions. Outside of the title fights, other stars such as Diego Lopes and Esteban Ribovics also had big performances. To make sense of it all, Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto, and Jeff Wagenheim offer their final thoughts on a historic night.
The Machine switches up algorithm vs. ‘Suga’ Sean
Wagenheim: Dvalishvili did what Dvalishvili does. And no less important, he did not allow Sean O’Malley to do what he does.
That’s how a classic striker vs. grappler is supposed to be decided, isn’t it?
In dominating the UFC 306 main event to seize the bantamweight title away from “Suga” Sean, Dvalishvili landed six takedowns, below average for him. He’s the UFC’s active leader with 86 takedowns in his 13 trips inside the Octagon, and he’s had four fights in which he hit double figures. But make no mistake: His takedown prowess is what made him a champion.
O’Malley fended off nine takedown tries, and to do so, he had to focus on staying in position to fend off Dvalishvili’s aggression. That made O’Malley defensive-minded the whole way. He showed only brief glimpses of the dangerous striking that had got him where he was. So even when Dvalishvili was being foiled on his takedown attempts, he remained in control of how the fight was being fought.
As a result, the wrestler even outstruck the striker. Dvalishvili threw 310 strikes, more than three times O’Malley’s offensive output (91), and outlanded him 214 to just 49. Even though many of the challenger’s punches and kicks merely touched O’Malley with little damage done, they kept the champ busy defending himself and trying in vain to find openings to land his offense.
Dvalishvili transformed himself from a one-dimensional fighter by being so relentless with the takedown aspect of his game that his opponent was unable to exploit any shortcomings in his standup. Will the new champ be able to do this as he begins his reign, especially when he faces a challenger who’s more well-rounded? We’ll find out.
‘Bullet’ keeps it basic to dethrone Grasso
Hale: Shevchenko figured out how to beat Alexa Grasso and it required her to keep her fight strategy as simple as possible. She played to her strengths by grounding Grasso in all five rounds — eight total takedowns — and kept over 16 minutes of control time. It wasn’t particularly entertaining, but it got the job done as Shevchenko ended her 18-month nightmare of not having the title in her possession.
At 36, Shevchenko is battling Father Time just as much as her opponents, but may have remembered that relying on her exceptional grappling can neutralize the opposition. Maybe the days of highlight reel knockouts and full-throttle brawls are a thing of the past for Shevchenko, but her rinse-and-repeat strategy had Grasso clueless on how to decipher. Does that speak more to Shevchenko’s overall ability or Grasso’s inability to adapt?
Will the UFC rush to stage a fourth fight between Grasso and Shevchenko? Probably not. At least, not right now. Especially with the dominant performance that Shevchenko put on at Noche UFC. Like Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno before it, there will almost certainly be at least one other opponent for each before they meet again.
A few worthy contenders are standing in line for their opportunity to compete for the title. Manon Fiorot is likely next with the winner of November’s clash between Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas waiting in the wings. Maycee Barber is also creeping up the ladder as well. Grasso may be forced to face one of these four opponents before she can attempt to regain her championship.
As for Shevchenko, she’ll look to pad her record of title defenses and reestablish her place regarding the Mount Rushmore of women’s MMA. It’s just that we may see a more measured and tactical version of Shevchenko at this stage of her career. Make no mistake, Shevchenko’s victory over Grasso may not have wowed you, but we are still witnessing greatness.
The experience inside Sphere was …
Okamoto: An absolute, undeniable, detail-by-detail, home run. It is one of the best things the UFC has done in its nearly 31-year history.
Sphere itself is just so incredibly versatile. It’s capabilities are unlike any venue I have ever been to. UFC CEO Dana White has historically not liked stadium shows, because he prioritizes fan experience and worries that stadium shows compromise in-house experiences. And he’s not wrong. Sphere is built for an in-house experience. It’s built so that it’s impossible to not have a good in-house experience, regardless of what you’re seeing or where you’re sitting, because the screen is mind-boggling on its own. The UFC embraced that and used it to what appeared to be its full capacity.
Any time the novelty of the size of the screen started to even slightly wear off, the entire environment would change — flower petals would fall from the sky or a massive Mexican flag would take over the entirety of the projection. It hit a perfect balance of realism and “video game” feel. The acoustics of the show were better than any UFC event I’ve ever been to. The UFC is in the fight promotion business, so you expect someone like White to talk in hyperboles — but he promised an event unlike any that’s come before it. The consensus feeling walking out on Saturday night was that he delivered exactly that. There’s nothing to even compare it to, because Noche UFC was so unique.
The experience watching Sphere at home was …
Wagenheim: I guess you had to be there. Sure, there were moments of awesome visuals on the TV broadcast throughout the night, especially once the main card began. But those otherworldly occasions came between fights, when fans are typically antsy to get on with it and move on to the next bout.
As the night wore on, the visuals did shake up the consciousness, but no more so than the rock concerts that have taken place at Sphere in its first year. And while visual scenes add an enhancement that blends right into a concert, they tended to be an experience all to themselves during the fight card. Once the fists started flying, the surroundings basically faded into the background.
And was it necessary to be so self-laudatory? The visuals early in the night often led to a “Noche UFC” logo being the focus. And the broadcast began with everyone on camera gushing about how this was going to be, in Dana White’s words, “the greatest sporting event that anybody has ever seen.” Oversell much?
By no means was the TV experience a dud. But we didn’t get anything as memorable as what those folks who paid big bucks to be there in person were treated to. The UFC has always sold us on the fights being the show. And despite $20 million of production bells and whistles, that promise held true even on this innovative night.