UFC 306 surpassed expectations, with two new champions stealing the show in the main and co-main event.
It was widely acknowledged that Merab Dvalishvili's heavy grappling style would either help or hinder him against the former champion, Sean O'Malley, and it turned out to be his key to success as he defeated 'Suga' by way of unanimous decision.
The 33-year-old outworked O'Malley over the 25 minute affair, with the three judges scoring the bout 49-46,48-47,48-47.
The co-main event saw Valentina Shenchenko regain the Flyweight belt against Alexa Grasso.
On her path to victory, 'Bullet' showed her elite level and outworked Grasso over all 5 rounds. In what was an incredibly dominant performance, Shevchenko never looked in trouble and cruised to the victory.
Diego Lopes picked up the biggest win of his career as he beat Brian Ortega by way of unanimous decision. The Brazilian came flying out of the gates, as he does so often, and hurt Ortega early in the contest. The former title challenger managed to stay in the contest until the final bell but Lopes always had the upper hand throughout and, with the win, secured himself as one of the biggest prospects at 145lbs.
Esteban Ribovics defeated Daniel Zellhuber in what was another incredibly close fight on the main card. Both men leaving everything inside the octagon and winning fight of the night. They delivered one of the best contests in recent history, with the pair going to war over the three rounds. Opening the main card in style, Ronaldo Rodriguez and Ode Osbourne battled it out in a back and forth affair. It was Rodriguez who was crowned the victor.
The preliminary section of the card set the tone for the night with all contests delivering in a big way. There were big wins for Norma Dumont, Ignacio Bahamondes, Ketlen Souza, Joshua Van and Raul Rousas Jr.
You can watch Dvalishvili's post fight interview below:
