Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili, as the main event of UFC 306 or as everyone’s calling it, UFC Noche, the biggest event in the history of the company! Dana White has hyped up this event a lot after reportedly spending over $20 million on it. The cheapest tickets at one point were being sold at $3000. But how do you watch it while still being able to pay rent this month? And when does it air?
The fight card will take place on Saturday, September 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The prelims of the card begin at 4:30 PM PT, 7:30 PM ET, 12:30 AM BST. The main card will start at around 7 PM PT, 10 PM ET, 3 AM BST. This card is building up to be the event of the year with a never before seen visual experience for fans.
The UFC has put in a lot of money and effort into this card, bringing in Emmy award winning producers to set up the visuals inside the venue. So, fans should expect some super cool interactive stuff from their wildest dreams. It will probably be like the time when Laura Dern and Sam Neill saw the dinosaurs for the first time in Jurassic Park.
Regardless, fans can watch the prelims action live on UFC Fight Pass as well as ESPN News and ESPN+. The PPV will also be available for purchase via ESPN+ for a fee of $79.99.
And since fans are paying so much for the event, they do expect a stacked card. And boy oh boy, this one doesn’t disappoint. Well, kind of.
Main card
Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes
Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics
Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode Osbourne
Prelims
Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
Manuel Torres vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
Edgar Chairez vs. Kevin Borjas
Raul Rosas Jr vs. Aorqileng
Meanwhile, ahead of this highly anticipated match up, the UFC released footage of how they captured the photo of main eventers O’Malley and Dvalishvili posing in front of the sphere. Even during the shoot, the pair were talking trash to each other.
O’Malley asks Dvalishvili his hand of choice to get KO’d by
There has been a lot of back and forth between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili during the build up to their fight. It’s clear the pair do not like each other at all.
And no one can blame them. O’Malley wanted to move in weight classes to fight Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title but Dvalishvili basically forced his hand by making fun of him on Twitter.
His videos were so funny that people kept demanding that bantamweight title fight between the two.
And the animosity hasn’t died down since.
In a recent clip released by the UFC, the two fighters were clicking photos for the UFC 306 poster posing in front of The Sphere when they started talking trash, ‘The Machine’ started out by saying,
“I knock people out, trust me.”
‘Sugar’ then clapped by asking him,
“You can pick, though—which one do you want: left hand or right hand?”
⚡️Sean O’Malley’s and Merab Dvalishvili’s interaction during their first face-off
Merab: “I knock people out, trust me.”
Sean: “You can pick, though—which one do you want: left hand or right hand?”
via: @ufc Countdown / #UFC306 #MMA pic.twitter.com/L3weWu3Ohb
— MMA.PROS.PICK (@MMAPROSPICK) September 7, 2024
There is a lot of history between the pair as well. The Georgian has seen his teammate get knocked out by O’Malley first hand and is looking to avenge Aljamain Sterling.
For ‘Sugar’ this fight is the door to a lot of bigger opportunities for him. A win against Dvalishvili could open the door for him to go up in weight and fight the winner of Topuria vs. Holloway.
There is a lot at stake on September 14 and the card is definitely building up a lot of hype at the moment. It will be interesting to see who walks out with the belt around their waist.
