UFC 306 live blog: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili

This Saturday, the UFC goes where it’s never gone before: the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Hailed as a revolutionary new venue for fan experience, the UFC brought a special card that Dana White has promised will be “the greatest live sporting event of all-time,” and in the UFC 306 main event, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley puts his title on the line against No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili.

Pulling off the upset over Dvalishvili’s friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling to claim the bantamweight title at UFC 292, “Suga” made his first successful title defense earlier this year, avenging a previous loss to Chito Vera with a one-sided shellacking in the main event of UFC 299. Now he looks to cement himself as the best 135-pound fighter on Earth with a similar performance against Dvalishvili.

Viewed by some as the uncrowned king at 135 pounds, Dvalishvili is currently on an impressive 10-fight win streak, dating back to 2018. A win over former champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 earlier this year cemented Dvalishvili’s place atop the bantamweight contenders, and now he looks to avenge his teammate and create his own legacy at 35 pounds.

Check out the UFC 306 main event live blog below.

Prefight:

Main event time. What more can they do in the Sphere for the main event?

Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic gets made official before we get the walkouts. Hopefully, the next two months fly by.

So, this last graphic thing on the Sphere is kind of weird. Very CGI movie-ish. At least the start of it was. I will say, I’m glad the pacing hasn’t felt impacted at all by this spectacle. That might be just me though.

The background takes a night city theme as Dvalishvili makes his way to the octagon.

Superstar by Lupe Fiasco plays on the speakers for O’Malley and they have definitely made him feel like one with this entrance.

Round 1:

Reluctant touch of the gloves from O’Malley. Here we are. Main event.

O’Malley instantly presses Dvalishvili. Very bizarre instant stop in the action from Herb Dean. No idea what happened there. No explanation.

Good inside leg kick from Dvalishvili. Spinning wheel kick misses from O’Malley. Body punch lands for O’Malley. It sounds like Tim Welch might be saying things to Merab or something. This is weird. Warning from Dean to Welch.

Nice head kick from Dvalishvili gets blocked but was heavy. Jab from O’Malley. One-two just misses for O’Malley. Good straight left from O’Malley. First takedown from Dvalishvili lands O’Malley gets up relatively quick but takes some punches in the process. Dvalishvili doing his thing and drags O’Mallet back down and knees the thigh. Big punch on the break from Dvalishvili.

Right hand for O’Malley leads to a single-leg takedown from Dvalishvili. They scramble, Dvalishvili goes in on a guillotine but they roll and he loses it. They stand against the cage and break. Horn sounds.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Round 2:

Apparently, Welch was getting warned for “excessive coaching.”

The fighters feel out the first minute of this round. O’Malley connects with a long straight right to the body. Merab tries to jab his way in. O’Malley can’t seem to find his usual comfort on the feet as he gets taken down again. They work from full guard.

O’Malley teases with an omaplata attempt but doesn’t commit. He switches to a triangle then grabs Dvalishvili’s glove and gets yelled at by Dean like a father to his son. Silly time in the officiating department in this one. Right back to guard they go.

O’Malley rolls to his stomach to give up his back and take some punches as he gets pushed to the cage wall. More knees to the thigh land for Dvalishvili. Another guillotine tease from Dvalishvili closes the round before he let go and claimed O’Malley kissed him? I think? This got weird. O’Malley tries to land some punches late. Horn sounds.

MMA Fighting scores the fight 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Round 3:

A slow start to the round bleeds the first minute. O’Malley keeps connecting with shots to the body when he has found success at this low volume. Body kicks and punches. He throws a right hook but can’t land.

Dvalishvili attacks with a speedy shot and slams O’Malley into the cage before a takedown attempt. Dvalishvili lands some nice knees to the head while he holds a guillotine grip but O’Malley shakes it off and breaks away.

O’Malley just barely misses with a knee up the middle that probably gave Chito Vera flashbacks. Leg kicks inside land for Dvalishvili. Flurry of leg kicks for Dvalishvili land. Left straight seems to graze through on Dvalishvili but he eats it well. Good right straight and knee connect on Dvalishvili before the horn sounds. Much closer effort from “Sugar.”

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Round 4:

Good pair of body punches land for O’Malley. He’s trying to find a way to tire Dvalishvili but it truly may not be possible.

Dvalishvili tries to punch his way into a takedown but eats some smalls shots for his trouble. Big, well-timed takedown lands for Dvalishvili in the inner-area of the octagon. Dvalishvili works from half-guard.

Dean warns Dvalishvili to work when he clearly is landing punches and elbows. Big breath taken from O’Malley while on bottom. O’Malley manages to roll to his knees as Dvalishvili holds a grip around his waist and they move toward the cage. Knees to the thigh, punches to the ears. Clockwork for “The Machine.”

30 seconds, another guillotine position for Dvalishvili. Stats show he’s outstruck O’Malley 61-6 before a big flurry at the end of the round.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Round 5:

O’Malley needs the hail mary but he looked spent between rounds.

Dean instantly claps for work 30 seconds into the round. Rough night for him.

Big overhand right followed by the blast double land for Dvalishvili. Backs him to the cage, more knees to the thigh from Dvalishvili. Overwhelming as always from Georgia’s finest.

O’Malley stands, they separate. Head kick from O’Malley gets blocked. Deep breath from O’Malley and a stance switch. Front kick visibly hurts Dvalishvili late. Dvalishvili is hurting. He shoots on the single but can’t get it. Big knee from O’Malley. Merab looks at the time.

Final 30. Dvalishvili is moving trying to avoid shots as Dean again asks for work. Blast single from Dvalishvili ends the fight. Horn sounds. And new.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Dvalishvili, 50-45 overall.

Official Decision: 49-46, 48-47, 48-47 - Unanimous Decision for Dvalishvili

Post-fight:

Those final two cards are a little wild to me but the right guy won, thankfully.

Sphere sounds quiet after that one. Wasn’t the most entertaining overall fight but a brilliant strategy as always from the man with limitless cardio. The Umar Nurmagomedov fight is going to be quite something.

Dvalishvili tells Joe Rogan he isn’t surprised by the scorecards. They put the spotlight on Nurmagomedov as the next challenger in the building. Dvalishvili loves everyone, lots of pride and joy from the new champ.

That will close things out on Noche UFC and our blogs tonight, guys and gals. Thanks for hanging out with us.