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5 biggest takeaways from UFC 306: Sean O'Malley faces tough trek back to title
What mattered most at UFC 306 at Sphere? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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Stand up for Esteban Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber
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Esteban Ribovics def. Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas: Best photos
We couldn't start this column without a big shout out to the Fight of the Night scrap between Esteban Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber, which was without a doubt one of the best fights of 2024 so far. Maybe even the best.
The two surging lightweight prospects went to war for 15 minutes in a thrilling manner. They were both hurt multiple times in the fight and had to dig to a deep, dark place to make it to the final bell, but Ribovics (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Zellhuber (15-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) did just that.
Noche UFC needed a memorable fight like this to happen to be a tentpole showcase of what could and should be for this themed event. Ribovics and Zellhuber delivered, making the most of their spot on the pay-per-view main card and bringing up their value as forever warriors in the eyes of fans, but perhaps more importantly, the UFC brass.
Diego Lopes leaves no doubt where he stands
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UFC 306 social media reactions: Diego Lopes' beatdown of Brian Ortega leads to calls for title shot
Diego Lopes def. Brian Ortega at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas: Best photos
Diego Lopes lived up to the task put before him once again when he added a signature victory to his resume against former two-time title challenger Brian Ortega in their featured featherweight bout.
Lopes has looked really good in his UFC tenure so far, with his lone blemish being a short-notice loss to undefeated contender Movsar Evloev. He was breezing through this competition for the most part, but Ortega represented an entirely different level – at least on paper.
The Brazilian showed he's at that level with a one-sided unanimous decision where he hurt Ortega multiple times, won the grappling exchanges and never found himself in true danger. Not a bad night at all for Lopes, who should find himself in most top five rankings at 145 pounds next week, and is staring down the barrel of a fight that could lead him to a title shot.
The trilogy ends in a dominant dude
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Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3 at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas: Best photos
The trilogy fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso didn't produce the excitement many hoped for, but it did seemingly give us a definitive answer about who is the better fighter.
Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC) essentially breezed past Grasso (16-4-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) with the help of her grappling en route to a unanimous decision win to become the first two-time women's flyweight champion in UFC history. It was disappointing in particular for the Mexican fans who tuned in to see Grasso shine on this stage, but we can't let that overshadow Shevchenko's greatness.
She might be the best female fighter in MMA history. It's arguable. And the only reason it's even arguable is because she won this fight. If Shevchenko had lost and been winless against Grasso in three tries, it would've been a brutal blow to her legacy. But now she's saved her spot in MMA lore.
Now we look forward and we see what Shevchenko can do with this second reign against a fresh crop of contenders such as Manon Fiorot, Natalia Silva, Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield.
Merab Dvalishvili cancels 'The Sugar Show'
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Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O'Malley at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas: Best photos
Sean O'Malley's push toward becoming the UFC's next big superstar took a significant blow when his bantamweight title reign came to an end courtesy of Merab Dvalishvili.
The fears of anyone who believed in O'Malley's (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) greatness were validated when his defensive grappling game was exposed as not being good enough to stop Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC), who is utterly relentless and showed why he seemed to be such a bad matchup for "Sugar" on paper in a title-winning unanimous decision.
He turned out to be that nightmare matchup in reality, too, and now it's hard not to wonder if O'Malley's moment is going to pass. He held the belt for 18 months, defending it once to avenge his previously lone loss to Marlon Vera. There was nothing lucky or fluky about this one, though, and it's going to be much more difficult to avenge.
Even if Dvalishvili loses the belt in his first defense against Umar Nurmagomedov, that's a no less difficult fight for O'Malley in a prospective path back to the belt. And whatever contender he has to take on to try to rebound into a title shot, is going to be a killer who is hungry to take O'Malley's remaining clout.
It's hard to see O'Malley getting that UFC title back, honestly. And that's not to say he's not skilled enough to do so, but 135 pounds is so deep with talent, that anyone having a long run at the top is going to be almost unreasonably challenging.
Will Dvalishvili be that guy? Or will it be Nurmagomedov? Or perhaps someone after both of them? Time will tell.
The Sphere experience delivers something unique
I'll be honest, for about the first hour or so of the UFC 306 card, I wondered what all the fuss was about. The in-arena structure was everything you'd expect if you have any knowledge of Sphere, and the on-screen visual early on were cool, but nothing mind blowing.
But then the night rolled on, and the vision shared so many times by UFC CEO Dana White began to take form. I was watching this event from home, and when White said the goal was the make the viewer feel as close to inside Sphere as possible, it's clear the promotion worked hard on that.
Of course nothing will match actually being there, which MMA Junkie videographer Ken Hathaway had the pleasure of being. His feedback both publicly and behind the scenes was largely glowing, especially as things hit a peak for the biggest fights of the night.
Early on, issues with audio, video angles and more were scattered across the broadcast. Those things were smoothed over within a couple fights, and by the time the pay-per-view main card arrived, the uniqueness of this show was in full effect.
I said as many times as I could prior to fight night that I am in favor of the UFC doing anything outside its norm considering almost all of its events follow a tried and true formula for viewers at home and in the venue.
The organization went way outside the box for this one, and although we could sit here all day and nitpick at little things, I find myself struggling to come up with negative sentiments just for the sake of doing so, despite White challenging media to bring its "harshest and most brutal criticisms" in the aftermath of this historic show.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 306.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: 5 biggest takeaways from UFC 306: Sean O'Malley faces tough trek back to title
