UFC 306 Highlights: O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili Fight Card Results

Sean O'Malley returned to the Octagon on Saturday night to defend his bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306.

O'Malley entered the event having won six of his last seven fights. The other fight was ruled void after an accidental eye poke. Dvalishvili earned a title shot after winning ten fights in a row, nine of those wins coming by unanimous decision.

Valentina Shevchenko fought Alexa Grasso for the women's flyweight championship in the co-main event. It was the third fight between the two fighters.

Shevchenko lost the title to Grasso by submission in her first fight at UFC 285 in March 2023. Their second fight ended in a draw on points.

Did you miss all the action? Here you can find all the results and highlights from UFC 306:

Result Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili

First round: Dvalishvili received a warning from referee Herb Dean in the opening seconds of the fight for attempting to talk to someone in O'Malley's corner. The fighters spent the first three minutes of the fight testing each other out before Dvalishvili decided to take O'Malley to the ground and pin him against the side gate of the octagon.

Second round: Dvalishvili took O'Malley down again, landing blinding punches to his face. O'Malley attempted a triangle choke, but Dean separated the fighters after, in his opinion, O'Malley tried to grab the inside of Dvalishvili's glove. Dvalishvili ended the second round by again pinning O'Malley against the side of the octagon and giving him a kiss on the back before releasing him. O'Malley quickly responded with a few punches on Dvalishvili while his back was turned before time expired.

Third round: O'Malley opened the round by kicking Dvalishvili with his legs while the fighters stood upright. Dvalishvili managed to catch the leg and bring O'Malley back to the ground before delivering a series of knee strikes to the face and hip. The fighters spent the majority of the round standing as O'Malley managed to evade Dvalishvili's takedown attempts.

Fourth round: Dvalishvili managed to take his opponent back to the ground, but suffered a cut to his face in the process. O'Malley tried to get back to his feet, but Dvalishvili wore down the reigning champion with his body weight and various strikes. O'Malley showed signs of exhaustion and frustration as time ran out in the fourth round.

Fifth round: Dvalishvili spent the first minute and a half of the final period keeping his distance from O'Malley, looking for an opportunity to take his opponent down. O'Malley again tried to knock out the challenger with leg and knee strikes in the final two minutes. Dvalishvili continued to keep his distance and secured the win after a dominating performance.

Dvalishvili was declared the winner by unanimous decision and the new bantamweight champion. It was Dvalishvili's eleventh consecutive victory.

“I feel like I’m in a dream,” Dvalishvili told Joe Rogan during the post-fight interview.

Result Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko

Shevchenko defeated Grasso by unanimous decision to regain the women's flyweight championship.

Shevchenko and Grasso spent part of the first round trading blows before Shevchenko took Grasso to the ground and slowed the pace of the fight. Grasso had opportunities to force Shevchenko into submission from below, but Shevchenko was able to escape.

Shevchenko took Grasso down in every round, executing her plan and convincing the judges.

Familiar faces in the audience at UFC 306

WWE Superstars Rey Mysterio and his son Dominik Mysterio were spotted in the audience.