UFC 306 turned out to be the exact same way the promotion hyped it. Dana White‘s ‘Love Letter to Mexico’ attracted a lot of fans who had a great time enjoying the surreal experience of the Las Vegas Sphere. However, some underwhelming aspects were completely out of White’s hands. Yes, like almost every fight night, some bouts underperformed, to say the least.
In the post-fight presser, Dana White announced that UFC 306 thrashed the previous gate record by a big margin. It broke the previous record with a new $22 million gate. White was satisfied with the event and was proud of his team. However, the same cannot be said about his champions, who put forward rather dull performances.
You can put on $20M worth of production, but you can’t control the fights. They’re gonna be what they are, so, I cannot let that drive me crazy.
Dana White via UFC 306 post-fight press conference
Boring fights have long been a staple of UFC pay-per-view events. At the famous UFC 300, Aljamain Sterling vs. Calvin Kattar was a snooze fest that drew a lot of criticism. Similarly, at UFC 304, seven consecutive fights ended without a finish. As expected, a situation like this always annoys the UFC boss, who doesn’t mind bringing it up verbally.
Dana White: You can put on $20M worth of production, but you can’t control the fights. They’re gonna be what they are, so, I cannot let that drive me crazy.#UFC pic.twitter.com/cDJoRYSq9u
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 15, 2024
White specifically talked about the co-main event title bout between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso. Unlike the first two fights, the trilogy between the ‘Bullet’ and Mexican champ remained one-sided. The CEO mocked the fight and joked about how it could have led to the promotion losing some fans. As it turns out, the fight went according to plan for Shevchenko.
Valentina Shevchenko’s lack of risk-taking resulted in a boring co-main event bout at UFC 306
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso women’s bantamweight fight was one of the most talked about bouts ahead of UFC 306. Both the fighters were known for their striking skills, and fans were estimating a striking showdown. However, for fight fans, it turned out to be boring, with most of it happening on the ground.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso at UFC 306 (via X)Shevchenko took an interesting approach and frequently shot for takedowns to gain ground control. During the process, Alexa Grasso tried to get a submission but failed every time.
Alexa Grasso couldn’t keep the fight on the feet or scramble and escape the former champion’s ground control. Shevchenko won the fight via unanimous decision and revealed her conservative strategy.
In my mind, I’m like this is the last fight and I have to do it right and I don’t have a chance for mistake. I don’t have anything to do wrong that why I chose the style and technique what exactly gonna bring me victory.
Valentina Shevchenko via ESPN MMA
Similarly, for Dana White and the MMA fans the main event also didn’t do much. White revealed that Sean O’Malley looked flat and underperformed. However, UFC 306 did produce one of the most entertaining fights of the year between Daniel Zellhuber and Esteban Ribovics. As such, there was some good fights before the co-main and main event title fights.
