A ten-fight card at UFC 306 in Las Vegas was headlined at Sphere — the dynamic venue that hosted its first reside sporting contest Saturday. On the marquee have been two title fights, as Merab Dvalishvili and Valentina Shevchenko emerged victorious as champions. Exterior of the title fights, different stars comparable to Diego Lopes and Esteban Ribovics additionally had massive performances. To make sense of all of it, Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim provide their remaining ideas on a historic night time.
The Machine switches up algorithm vs. ‘Suga’ Sean
Wagenheim: Dvalishvili did what Dvalishvili does. And no much less essential, he didn’t enable Sean O’Malley to do what he does.
That is how a traditional striker vs. grappler is meant to be determined, is not it?
In dominating the UFC 306 primary occasion to grab the bantamweight title away from “Suga” Sean, Dvalishvili landed six takedowns, under common for him. He is the UFC’s lively chief with 86 takedowns in his 13 journeys contained in the Octagon, and he has had 4 fights during which he hit double figures. However make no mistake: His takedown prowess is what made him a champion.
O’Malley fended off 9 takedown tries, and to take action, he needed to deal with staying in place to sluggish Dvalishvili’s aggression. That made O’Malley defense-minded the entire method. He confirmed solely transient glimpses of the damaging hanging that had obtained him the place he was. So even when Dvalishvili was being foiled on his takedown makes an attempt, he remained in charge of how the struggle flowed.
In consequence, the wrestler even outstruck the striker. Dvalishvili threw 310 strikes, greater than thrice O’Malley’s offensive output (91), and outlanded him 214 to only 49. Despite the fact that most of the challenger’s punches and kicks merely touched O’Malley with little harm achieved, they stored the champ busy defending himself and attempting in useless to seek out openings to land his offense.
Dvalishvili remodeled himself from a one-dimensional fighter by being so relentless with the takedown a part of his recreation that his opponent was unable to take advantage of any shortcomings in his standup. Will the brand new champ have the ability to do that as he begins his reign, particularly when he faces a challenger who’s extra well-rounded? We’ll discover out.
‘Bullet’ retains it fundamental to dethrone Grasso
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Valentina Shevchenko wins again girls’s UFC flyweight title at UFC 306
Valentina Shevchenko defeats Alexa Grasso within the co-main occasion of UFC 306 to realize again her girls’s UFC flyweight title.
Hale: Shevchenko found out the right way to beat Alexa Grasso and it required her to maintain her struggle technique easy. She performed to her strengths by grounding Grasso in all 5 rounds — eight complete takedowns — and stored over 16 minutes of management time. It wasn’t notably entertaining, nevertheless it obtained the job achieved as Shevchenko ended her 18-month nightmare of not having the title in her possession.
At 36, Shevchenko is battling Father Time simply as a lot as her opponents, however may need remembered that counting on her distinctive grappling can neutralize the opposition. Perhaps the times of highlight-reel knockouts and full-throttle brawls are a factor of the previous for Shevchenko, however her rinse-and-repeat technique had Grasso clueless the right way to decipher. Does that talk extra to Shevchenko’s total means or Grasso’s incapacity to adapt?
Will the UFC rush to stage a fourth struggle between Grasso and Shevchenko? Most likely not. No less than, not proper now. Particularly with the dominant efficiency that Shevchenko placed on at Noche UFC. Like Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno earlier than it, there’ll virtually definitely be at the very least one different opponent for every earlier than they meet once more.
Just a few worthy contenders are standing in line for his or her alternative to compete for the title. Manon Fiorot might be subsequent with the winner of November’s conflict between Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas ready within the wings. Maycee Barber can also be creeping up the ladder. Grasso is likely to be pressured to face one in all these 4 opponents earlier than she will be able to try to regain her championship.
As for Shevchenko, she’ll look to pad her document of title defenses and reestablish her place on the Mount Rushmore of ladies’s MMA. It is simply that we would see a extra measured and tactical model of Shevchenko at this stage of her profession. Make no mistake, Shevchenko’s victory over Grasso may not have wowed you, however we’re nonetheless witnessing greatness.
The expertise inside Sphere was …
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This transition inside Sphere is completely mind-boggling
Because the UFC prepares for a brand new struggle, it introduces a brand new background in epic trend on Sphere display.
Okamoto: An absolute, simple, detail-by-detail, house run. It is without doubt one of the finest issues the UFC has achieved in its practically 31-year historical past.
Sphere itself is simply so extremely versatile. It is capabilities are in contrast to any venue I’ve been to. UFC CEO Dana White has traditionally not appreciated stadium exhibits, as a result of he prioritizes fan expertise and worries that stadium exhibits compromise in-house experiences. And he isn’t fallacious. Sphere is constructed for an in-house expertise. It is constructed in order that it is unimaginable to not have an excellent in-house expertise, no matter what you are seeing or the place you are sitting, as a result of the display is mind-boggling by itself. The UFC embraced that and used it to what seemed to be its full capability.
Any time the novelty of the dimensions of the display began to even barely put on off, the whole atmosphere would change — flower petals would fall from the sky or an enormous Mexican flag would take over everything of the projection. It hit an ideal stability of realism and “online game” really feel. The acoustics of the present have been higher than any UFC occasion I’ve witnessed. The UFC is within the struggle promotion enterprise, so that you anticipate somebody like White to talk in hyperbole — however he promised an occasion in contrast to any that had come earlier than it. The consensus strolling out Saturday night time was that he delivered. There’s nothing to even evaluate it to, as a result of Noche UFC was distinctive.
The expertise watching Sphere at house was …
Wagenheim: I suppose you needed to be there. Positive, there have been moments of superior visuals on the TV broadcast all through, particularly as soon as the principle card started. However these otherworldly events got here between fights, when followers are usually antsy to get on with it and transfer to the subsequent bout.
Because the night time wore on, the visuals did shake up the consciousness, however not more than the rock concert events which have taken place at Sphere in its first yr. And whereas visible scenes add an enhancement that blends proper right into a live performance, they tended to be an expertise all to themselves throughout the struggle card. As soon as the fists began flying, the environment principally light into the background.
And was it essential to be so self-laudatory? The visuals early within the night time typically led to a Noche UFC brand being the main focus. And the published started with everybody on digicam gushing about how this was going to be, in Dana White’s phrases, “the best sporting occasion that anyone has ever seen.” Oversell a lot?
On no account was the TV expertise a dud. However we did not get something as memorable as what these people who paid massive bucks to be there in particular person have been handled to. The UFC has at all times offered us on the fights being the present. And regardless of $20 million of manufacturing bells and whistles, that promise held true even on this modern night time.