The UFC held its first-ever event at Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday for a solid UFC 306 card, that saw two titles on the line.
In the main event, Sean O’Malley was looking to defend his bantamweight title for the second time against Merab Dvalishvili. The co-main event saw Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko having their trilogy match for the 125lbs title.
Ultimately, it was Dvalishvili who dominated O’Malley to cruise to a lopsided decision to become the new bantamweight champion. Shevchenko, meanwhile, picked up a clear-cut decision win to reclaim her women’s flyweight title. Following UFC 306, here is what I think should be next for the four fighters.
Merab Dvalishvili
Merab Dvalishvili is the new UFC bantamweight champion as he dominated Sean O’Malley at UFC 306. It was a great performance from Dvalishvili who used his wrestling to control the bout.
With Dvalishvili winning the title, it’s clear his first title defense will be against Umar Nurmagomedov. The bout will likely happen in the first quarter of 2025 in what will be a highly-anticipated bout.
Sean O’Malley
Sean O’Malley had a chance to become an even bigger star had he beaten Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 at Sphere. However, ‘Suga’ struggled to defend the takedowns and was controlled for most of the bout to lose a decision.
O’Malley is likely a win away from a title shot and a logical next fight is to face Cory Sandhagen. That fight can be a five-round co-main event on a pay-per-view in early 2025 or could serve as a Fight Night headliner. It’s a fight that many fans have wanted to see for years, and now it should finally happen.
Valentina Shevchenko
Valentina Shevchenko reclaimed her flyweight title as she dominated Alexa Grasso at UFC 306 on Saturday. It was a crucial fight for her career as with a loss, her time as a title contender at 125lbs would be over.
Although the series is 1-1-1 between her and Grasso, Shevchenko’s next fight should be against Manon Fiorot who is the clear-cut No. 1 contender.
Alexa Grasso
Alexa Grasso is back on the drawing board after her UFC 306 loss to Valentina Shcvehnko. Grasso fell flat as she didn’t look like herself.
Grasso is likely only a win away from a title shot and a logical next fight is to rematch Maycee Barber. The two fought back in 2021 where it was Grasso who won by decision. Years later, it makes sense to be a Fight Night main event with the winner getting at title shot.
