The UFC takes over the Sphere in Las Vegas for the first time on Saturday night for UFC 306 at Riyadh Season Noche in advance of Mexican Independence Day.
The main event features a highly anticipated bantamweight fight, with Sean O’Malley (18-1) making his second title defense against No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili (17-4).
O’Malley claimed the title by stopping Aljamain Sterling in the second round in August of 2023, and successfully defended it with a victory over Marlon “Chito” Vera in March that served as revenge for O’Malley’s lone career loss to date.
He will face a tough opponent in Dvalishvili, who enters Saturday with three consecutive victories over former UFC champions to extend his winning streak to 10 fights. Dvalishvili has come a long way since losing his first two UFC fights. “The Machine” has looked dominant in wins over the likes of Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo, and his vaunted grappling skills will be of concern to O’Malley.
Dvalishvili opened as the slight -115 favorite at BetMGM, but that has shifted dramatically with O’Malley moving from -105 to -140 as he has been backed by 73 percent of the total bets and 81 percent of the money wagered on the fight. Dvalishvili is now the +115 underdog.
The most popular main card prop bet at the book has been O’Malley to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification at +125. The second most popular? An O’Malley win by submission at +1600, followed by a submission victory by Dvalishvili at +1800.
The prelims begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with the main card scheduled to begin at 10 p.m.
OTHER MAIN CARD FIGHTS
Alexa Grasso (16-3-1) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1) The co-main event is a trilogy fight between a pair of The Ultimate Fighter season 32 coaches and the UFC’s current No. 1 pound-for-pound women’s fighters. Grasso became the first Mexican female UFC champion with a submission in the first fight, while last year’s rematch ended in a draw. Grasso is unbeaten in her past six fights, while the former champion Shevchenko will be in her 11th consecutive UFC title fight.
Grasso has been backed by 68 percent of the money as the -140 favorite, while Shevchenko has drawn 58 percent of the total bets at +115.
Brian Ortega (16-3) vs. Diego Lopes (25-6) Ortega is the No. 3-ranked featherweight contender and coming off a victory over Yair Rodriguez following a lengthy layoff due to a shoulder injury. He will be taking on 2023 UFC Newcomer of the Year Lopes, who enters with a four-fight win streak. This fight was originally scheduled on short notice for UFC 303, but was moved to Saturday night after Ortega fell ill. Lopes instead faced Dan Ige, whom he scored a unanimous decision win against.
Lopes is the strong favorite at -200, but Ortega’s +165 longshot odds have drawn 69 percent of the total bets while the money wagered on the fight has been nearly split.
Daniel Zellhuber (15-1) vs. Esteban Ribovics (13-1) Both lightweights are former Dana White Contender Series fighters who enter Saturday night riding multiple-fight win streaks. Zellhuber has won three straight since losing his UFC debut, while Ribovics is coming off a win over Terrance McKinney in just 37 seconds in May.
Zellhuber is the heaviest favorite on the main card and has been backed by 56 percent of the money while holding steady at -225. However, Ribovics has been supported by 60 percent of the total bets at +185.
Ronaldo Rodriguez (16-2) vs. Ode’ Osbourne (12-7) This flyweight bout kicks off the main card. Rodriguez seeks to build on his six-fight win streak as he makes his second appearance in the Octagon. Osbourne is just 4-5 inside the Octagon and the Las Vegas resident is seeking to snap a two-fight losing streak.
Rodriguez has been the popular choice at -165, drawing 55 percent of the money and 66 percent of the money to beat Osbourne (-+140).