Noche UFC was everything it was sold to be from a spectacle standpoint.
The attendance was a whopping 16,024. The event produced a $22 million gate, and it was the highest-grossing UFC event at the Sphere.
While there weren’t many finishes on Saturday night, we did see two new champions crowned and two epic fights.
In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili dethroned Sean O’Malley to become the new UFC bantamweight champion. Dvalishvili made it look easy en route to a unanimous decision win.
O’Malley had no answer for Dvalishvili’s wrestling.
Dvalishvili had six takedowns and secured more than 10 minutes of control time to gain all three judges’ favor in the fight. O’Malley couldn’t find a home for his heavier punches and rag-dolled most of the fight.
Valentina Shevchenko regained her title in the co-main event with her dominant outing. Shevchenko took Grasso down eight times with 16:04 control time.
Grasso tried to fight Shevchenko off with submission attempts, but Shevchenko escaped every attempt while maintaining a dominant top position.
The fans and some in the MMA community didn’t love the action–or lack thereof–but Shevchenko has still regained her spot atop the 125-pound title in the women’s division.
Here is a look at all of the results from Noche UFC.
Noche UFC 306 Main Card Results
- Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision (48-47×2, 49-46)
- Valentina Shevchenko def. Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (50-45×3)
- Diego Lopes defeats Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Esteban Ribovics defeats Daniel Zellhuber via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ronaldo Rodriguez defeats Ode Osbourne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
UFC 306 Preliminary Card Results
- Norma Dumont defeats Irene Aldana via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
- Ignacio Bahamondes defeats Manuel Torres via TKO at 4:02 of Round 1
- Ketlen Souza defeats Yazmin Jauregui via submission at 3:02 of Round 1 (Rear-naked choke)
- Joshua Van defeats Edgar Chairez via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
UFC 306 Early Preliminary Card Results
- Raul Rosas Jr. defeats Aoriqileng via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Noche UFC Performances of the Night
Ignacio Bahamondes scored a first-round finish over Manuel Torres. Bahamondes’s straight right hand dropped Torres, setting up ground and pound.
The finish was one of two on the night, earning Bahamondes a $50,000 performance bonus.
Ketlen Souza’s first-round submission win over Yazmin Jauregui came in the first round, and it earned the other performance bonus.
A vicious left hook dropped Jauregui and Souza quickly locked in the rear-naked choke. Jauregui would not tap and instead went out cold.
Zellhuber vs. Ribovics – Fight of the Night
It was a shame there had to be a loser in the Zellhuber-Ribovics fight. The two fighters battled in a back-and-forth affair that featured 277 significant strikes.
Ribovics prevailed by split decision. Both fighters received $50,000 for their part in the Fight of the Night.
Cinematically, Noche UFC delivered. The large screen, lighting and every aspect fo Mexican culture in the arena came off spectacularly. The hope is for the UFC to pull off other grand events for special occasions in the future.