Merab Dvalishvili (18-4) paces his way to UFC gold by dominating Sean O’Malley (18-2, NC) for a unanimous decision victory (49-46, 48-47 2x) in the main event of UFC 306 at the spectacular Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“The Machine” Dvalishvili utilized his relentless pressure to keep O’Malley backed against the octagon and shot timely takedowns. Throughout the fight, Dvalishvili landed 6 of 15 takedowns and controlled over 10 minutes of the battle.

The threat of Dvalishvili’s takedowns greatly impacted Sean O’Malley, as he didn’t seem comfortable throwing his usual striking combinations and employing his kicks. O’Malley was out struck 214 to 49 and threw 219 less strikes than Dvalishvili.

With this win, Merab Dvalishvili becomes the 2^nd Georgian fighter to grasp UFC gold and extends his winning streak to 11.

In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko (24-4-1) recaptured the UFC women’s flyweight championship by sweeping Alexa Grasso (16-4-1) on the scorecard (50-45 3x) in their trilogy bout.

Shevchenko used her improved wrestling prowess to score eight takedowns and control her opponent for over 16 minutes. She also recorded 193 total strikes and 45 significant strikes in a commanding performance.

Since December of 2018, Valentina Shevchenko has been in eleven championship fights in a row and has fought some of the biggest name in the sport. With this win, Shevchenko further cements herself as one of the best and a pioneer in women’s MMA.

Elsewhere on the card, Diego Lopes (26-6) continues to rise the featherweight rankings as he cruised past Brian Ortega (16-4) for unanimous decision victory. Then, Esteban Ribovics (14-1) outlasted Daniel Zellhuber (15-2) for a split decision win. Lastly, Ronaldo Rodriguez (17-2) bounced back after a grueling 1^st round to escape with the unanimous decision over Obe Osbourne (12-8).

Prelims:

Norma Dumont def. Irene Aldana via UD

Ignacio Bahamondes def. Manual Torres via KO/TKO

Ketlen Souza def. Yazmen Jauregui via SUB

Joshua Van def Edgar Chairez via UD

Rual Rosas Jr. def. Aoriqileng via UD