UFC 306 OMalley vs Dvalishvili PPV Pay Per View 9/14/24

These two have been circling each other since O’Malley was set to face Sterling, who remains one of Dvalishvili’s closest friends and training partners. While there are personal tensions and a budding rivalry between them, this is also an intoxicating stylistic clash where one can conceive a clear path to victory for each man while also envisioning a scenario where this turns into a breathtaking battle of wills. No matter how this shakes out, Saturday’s main event is going to be a benchmark moment in the division, and set the tone for how things will shape up in the ultra-competitive 135-pound ranks going forward.

Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko meet for a third time, with the women’s flyweight title once again hanging in the balance. Each of the first two meetings between these two standout talents has been tense and competitive, with Grasso pulling off the upset to claim the title in the first meeting last March before a debated scorecard resulted in the rematch at Noche UFC last September ending in a draw. Both champion and challenger had their moments in each of the first two encounters, with Shevchenko ahead going into the championship rounds in each contest before Grasso rallied, first for the finish and then to earn a draw.

While they were exceptionally collaborative and focused on being quality coaches during their time on Season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter, it’s impossible for there not to be simmering tension between these two as the series to date has been riddled with questions and points of debate. This third meeting is an opportunity for both Grasso and Shevchenko to definitively stamp themselves as the dominant competitor and undisputed champion, with the future direction of the division tethered to the outcome. Should Grasso win, 2025 could be the first year since 2018 where Shevchenko is not involved in a title fight, while if “Bullet”emerges victorious, the series would be level at 1-1-1, with a fourth fight lingering as a possibility. But before getting to what happens after, we have to get through the fight itself, and just like the first two instalments, this one should be riveting, as well.