Sean O’Malley makes the second defense of his UFC men’s bantamweight championship against Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of two-title-fight UFC 306 on Saturday, Sept. 14, in Las Vegas.
The event, which the fight promotion is billing as Noche UFC becauase it falls on Mexican Independence Day weekend, also features a women’s flyweight title bout between champion Alexa Grasso and former champ Valentina Shevchenko.
The main card at Sphere is on ESPN+ pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPNNews and ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m.
O’Malley (18-1, 1 NC) is unbeaten in his most recent seven bouts, including a decision win over Marlon Vera in March in his first title defense. O’Malley is No. 4 in the ESPN pound-for-pound men’s rankings.
Dvalishvili (17-4) has won 10 in a row, most recently a February decision over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. He is No. 2 in the ESPN men’s bantamweight rankings.
Neither Grasso (16-3-1) nor Shevchenko (23-4-1) has fought since last September’s split draw, which was a rematch of the March 2023 bout in which Grasso took away the title via fourth-round submission. Grasso is No. 2 in the ESPN pound-for-pound women’s rankings, Shevchenko No. 3.
What are the storylines behind the top fights at UFC 306? How are experts breaking them down? What do the fighters have to say? Here is the fight card, how to watch it and a collection of all of the UFC 306 essentials.
How to watch the fights
Watch the PPV and all other fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
Watch the prelims on ESPNNews. Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV schedule
Don’t have ESPNNews? Get instant access.
Purchased the fight on your phone and want to stream on your TV? Find out how here.
There’s also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
The fight card
ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET
Men’s bantamweight championship: Sean O’Malley (c) vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Women’s flyweight: Alexa Grasso (c) vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Featherweight: Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes
Lightweight: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics
Men’s flyweight: Ronaldo Rodríguez vs. Ode’ Osbourne
ESPNNews/ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. ET
Women’s bantamweight: Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
Lightweight: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
Strawweight: Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
Men’s flyweight: Édgar Cháirez vs. Kevin Borjas
Men’s bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng
(c) = defending champion
Top stories
UFC 306 first look: Big questions, early bets, predictions for O’Malley-Dvalishvili
MMA real or not: Will O’Malley, Grasso both retain at Noche UFC?