Bantamweight superstar Sean O’Malley coughed up his 135-pound gold to Merab Dvalishvili last night. The two headlined the annual Noche UFC 306 pay-per-view (PPV) event from the MGM ‘Sphere’. In the women’s Flyweight feature co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko turned back time with a vintage performance against Alexa Grasso. After both their five-round drubbing and massive title win, the duo are now going viral — for their dancing skills!
Merab Dvalishvili and the Kyrgyz phenom out of Team Tiger Muay Thai (TMT) were backstage dancing to traditional folk beats. Cheered on by a circle, they later shook on it. Valentina Shevchenko is obviously already viral for her graceful one-leg ballet spins which she did when she grabbed the belt all those years back. Tough as a nail and ultra-disciplined, she also competed on the fourth season of ATV’s Peruvian dance competition reality show Combate.
Meanwhile, funnyman Merab Dvalishvili is famous for his hilarious skits and dances. But now, the duo has gone viral for a pure expression of joy. Dvalishvili finally fulfilled his UFC championship dreams by dominating Sean O’Malley with a suffocating wrestle-heavy game. Unlike the now-former champ, Alexa Grasso succeeded in defensive pockets but was no match for Shevchenko.
Grasso has been a beacon of the WMMA flyweight for a long while. O’Malley, 29, had his six-fight winning streak snapped and ended his 18-month title reign with only one defense against Marlon Vera. Now, it’s back to the drawing board for both. If the dance and the caption should prove anything, it must be really good to be champions indeed.
UFC 306: Big title winners for annual Noche, and new – what’s next?
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso’s trilogy didn’t produce the excitement many hoped for. But the UFC 306 Noche UFC event needed the definitive tentpole mark to end it. Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC) essentially grazed past her with slow but intelligent grappling en route to a unanimous win (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).
Merab Dvalishvili and Valentina Shevchenko close out UFC 306 Noche card as new champs (Source: es.agfight.com/Instagram)‘Bullet’ also closed out the promotion’s debut Pay-per-view at the Sphere as the first two-time women’s flyweight champion in UFC competition. She dropped Grasso on point eight times in 12 attempts and controlled the action on the ground for almost 15 minutes.
Had Shevchenko lost and gone winless against Grasso, it would’ve been a brutal blow to her legacy. But now she’s cemented her place in MMA lore. Names like Manon Fiorot (tabbed as UFC 306 Official Weigh-in backup), Natalia Silva, and Rose Namajunas await.
Next to the runner-up, comes Merab Dvalishvili as the big winner, who just canceled ‘The Suga Show’. The 33-year-old ‘Machine’ is on an 11-fight winning streak and now has victories over four former UFC champions: Sean O’Malley, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. Now, if he survives another stiff test in his first title defense with Umar Nurmagomedov, he will be ready for anything.
Per statleaders.ufc.com (UFC Record Book), he also has 2nd best takedowns landed in UFC competition. Even if he loses the strap, the walk back up is no less tough than O’Malley. His bantamweight title reign could be one for ages. Not bad for a guy the UFC CEO lambasted for “next-level stupid” antics.
