Two title fights take place at UFC 306 this Saturday. One is between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, and the other is between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.
O’Malley and Meraba battle for the bantamweight belt while the two ladies clinch to see who takes home the women’s flyweight title. There are a few other notable fights, with the standout being the one between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes in the featherweight division.
Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili Preview
Many disputed Suga, but he proved them all wrong in recent times. Yes, his win against Petr Yan was controversial, but after that, the following two victories were flawless. The one against Sterling provided a highlight reel KO, while the other against Vera saw him dominate the only guy who inflicted O’Malley a loss in the past.
Just a casual run-in between UFC bantamweight competitors 😅 #NocheUFC#UFC306 | September 14, 10 ET | ESPN+ PPV 🍿 https://t.co/Rea50J8xii
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— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 5, 2024
The young star has 20 bouts under his belt so far, with 18 wins, one no-contest, and one loss. As stated, one loss was against Vera a few years ago. The majority of victories came via KO: 12 of them, five by decision, and one after a submission.
O’Malley is an excellent puncher, maybe the best in the division along with Yan, and over time, his takedown defense has improved a lot. We’ve seen that against Sterling, where he didn’t allow the champion at the time to drag him to the mat often.
Merab has 12 wins in a row, and it’s quite logical for him to get the chance to fight for the title. Tough, that won’t be his only motive here because Dvalishvili is also one of Sterling’s closest friends, and he wants to avenge his defeat and bring back the belt to the gym where they train.
The list of his recent victories is impressive. He defeated Marlon Moraes via KO, then Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo, all via unanimous decisions. He was fantastic in all these matchups, showing impressive cardio and relentless wrestling.
Like all the guys from the Caucasus, Merab’s wrestling is at the highest possible level, and his cardio allows him to constantly attempt takedowns and pressure the rivals after putting him on the ground. He has no KO power, but on the other hand, all the previously mentioned is what gets him wins.
O’Malley will have a tough time here because we don’t believe he fought against a physically stronger fighter than Dvalishvili. Though, Merab had a nasty cut near his eye during the training camp, and he decided to proceed with the with. Now, with a four-inch reach advantage, Suga should reopen it pretty soon. After that, he should have everything in order to take the battle in his direction. Suga should win here, probably via decision. The odds on that are huge.
Grasso vs. Shevchenko III
Regarding the other fight of the night, between Grasso and Valentina, this will be their third battle, with the previous two ending in Grasso’s favor when she took the belt and the other finished with a draw.
We couldn’t believe that Grasso adapted that well to Valentina’s style and that she won in the first place. What also surprised us was that she managed to stay unbeaten in the second meeting, meaning that Grasso took her skills to another level.
With both girls being outside the octagon for a year, Grasso is in a better position, being five years younger than the Bullet. She had time to heal and improve, the same as Shevchenko, but who turned 36. We are not going to give predictions on who will win here, but instead pick the fight going to the distance.
