A 10-fight bill at UFC 306 in Las Vegas, Nevada, is headlined by the Sphere — the dynamic venue that hosted its first live sports event on Saturday. On the marquee are two title fights, as Merab Dvalishvili And Valentina Shevchenko emerged victorious as champions. In addition to the title matches, other stars such as Diego Lopez And Esteban Ribovics There were also some great performances. To find out more, Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim share their final thoughts on a historic night.
Algorithm Change Machine vs. ‘Suga’ Sean
Wagenheim: Dvalishvili did what Dvalishvili did. And no less importantly, he did not allow Sean O’Malley to do what he did.
This is how a classic wrestling match is decided, right?
In the main event of UFC 306 to take the bantamweight title from Sean “Suga,” Dvalishvili took down six opponents, below his average. He’s the active UFC leader with 86 knockouts in 13 times in the Octagon, and he’s had four fights in which he’s scored double digits. But make no mistake: His takedowns are what made him a champion.
O’Malley fought off nine takedowns, and to do so, he had to focus on staying in position to counter Dvalishvili’s aggression. That kept O’Malley on the defensive the entire time. He only showed glimpses of the dangerous strikes that got him to where he was. So even when Dvalishvili was hampered in his takedowns, he was still in control of how the fight played out.
As a result, the wrestler even managed to defeat his opponent. Dvalishvili landed 310 strikes, more than three times O’Malley’s strike output (91), and knocked his opponent down 214 to just 49. Although many of his opponent’s punches and kicks simply touched O’Malley without causing much damage, they kept the champion busy defending and trying in vain to find an opening to attack.
Dvalishvili has transformed himself from a one-dimensional fighter by being so committed to the takedown aspect of his game that his opponents have been unable to exploit any weaknesses in his stance. Can the new champion do the same as he begins his reign, especially when faced with a more well-rounded opponent? We shall find out.
‘Bullet’ keeps the basics intact to take down Grasso
Hale: Shevchenko found a way to beat Alexa Grasso and she needed to keep her fighting strategy as simple as possible. She played to her strengths by taking Grasso down for all five rounds — eight knockdowns in total — and maintaining control for more than 16 minutes. The fight wasn’t exactly exciting, but it got the job done as Shevchenko ended an 18-month title nightmare.
At 36, Shevchenko is fighting the God of Time as much as her opponents, but may have remembered that relying on her exceptional grappling can neutralize opponents. The days of high-flying takedowns and brutal brawls may be behind her for Shevchenko, but her rinse-and-repeat strategy leaves Grasso clueless. Does that say more about Shevchenko’s overall ability or Grasso’s inability to adapt?
Is the UFC in a rush to book a fourth Grasso-Shevchenko fight? Probably not. At least not right now. Especially given the dominant performance Shevchenko put in at Noche UFC. Like Deiveson Figueiredo And Brandon Moreno Before that, there will almost certainly be at least one other opponent before they meet again.
Several worthy candidates are lining up for a chance to compete for the title. Manon Fiorot next likely to be with the winner of November’s clash between Erin Blanchfield And Namajunas Rose waiting Maycee Barber are also slowly climbing the ladder. Grasso may be forced to face one of these four opponents before she can attempt to regain her title.
As for Shevchenko, she will be looking to consolidate her title defense record and reestablish her place atop the Rushmore of women’s MMA. It’s just that we may be seeing a more calculated and tactical version of Shevchenko at this stage of her career. Make no mistake, Shevchenko’s win over Grasso may not have been earth-shattering, but we were still witnessing greatness.
The experience inside the Sphere is…
Okamoto: An absolute, undeniable, every bit of it home run. This is one of the best things the UFC has done in its nearly 31-year history.
The sphere itself is amazing. flexible. Its capabilities are unlike any venue I’ve ever been to. UFC CEO Dana White has previously been averse to stadium shows, prioritizing the fan experience and worried that stadium shows would detract from the on-site experience. And he’s not wrong. The Sphere is built to be an on-site experience. It’s built so that it can’t be Are not have a good experience in the house, no matter what you’re watching or where you’re sitting, because the screen itself is so confusing. The UFC has embraced that and used it to what seems to be its full potential.
Whenever the novelty of the screen size started to wear off even a little, the entire environment would change — flower petals would fall from the sky or a giant Mexican flag would take over the entire projection. It struck the perfect balance between realism and “video game” feel. The sound of the show was better than any UFC event I’ve ever attended. The UFC is a fight promotion business, so you’d expect someone like White to talk hype — but he promised an event unlike any before it. The overall feeling walking out Saturday night was that he delivered exactly that. There’s nothing that compares, because Noche UFC is so unique.
The Sphere viewing experience at home is…
Wagenheim: I guess you have to be there. Sure, there are some great visual moments on TV all night, especially when the main event starts. But the weird moments happen between games, when fans are usually eager to move on and get to the next game.
As night falls, the visuals shake up the perception, but no more so than the rock concerts that took place at the Sphere in its first year. And while the visuals add to the immersion of being at a concert, they tend to become a completely separate experience during the fight. Once the fists start flying, the surroundings essentially fade into the background.
And does it have to be so self-congratulatory? The early night visuals often focus on the “Noche UFC” logo. And the broadcast starts with everyone on camera talking about how this event will be, in the words of Dana White, “the greatest sporting event anyone has ever seen.” Is that too much hype?
That’s not to say the TV experience was bad. But we didn’t get anything as memorable as what those who paid good money to be there in person were treated to. The UFC has always sold us on fights as shows. And despite $20 million in production and buzzer-beating, that promise held true even on this creative night.
