Helena native Sean O’Malley will defend his UFC Bantamweight Championship for the second time in his reign in the main event of the mixed martial arts promotion’s debut at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14, UFC CEO and president Dana White announced on social media Friday.
O’Malley will face Merab Dvalishvili in the headline fight of the UFC 306 card, with the event also known as Riyadh Season Noche UFC for sponsorship reasons. It will be the first sporting event ever to take place at the Sphere, which opened last September at a cost of $2.3 billion and has garnered attention for its unique wraparound, sphere-shaped LED display.
Sean O’Malley meets with fans at a Town Pump in Helena on May 23 while promoting Happy Dad, a hard seltzer brand. The Helena native will defend his UFC Bantamweight Championship against Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306, scheduled to be held Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
O’Malley, who won the title last August with a technical knockout win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, successfully defended the belt for the first time in March at UFC 299 as he defeated Marlon Vera by unanimous decision. The 135-pounder holds a professional record of 18-1 with one no-contest, having avenged his only career loss to Vera in his last fight.
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Nicknamed “Suga” with his trademark multi-colored hair, O’Malley has exploded into becoming one of MMA’s most popular fighters since his title win, with the flashy and expressive 29-year-old currently ranked No. 6 in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings as of Friday night.
He’s made the occasional trip back to his home state since winning the bantamweight strap, flying the No. 37 flag during a Montana Grizzlies home football game last year and making a promotional appearance for Happy Dad hard seltzer at a Town Pump store in Helena in May.
His opponent, Dvalishvili, was born in the country of Georgia and is currently the No. 1 contender to O’Malley’s title in the UFC’s official bantamweight rankings. The 33-year-old Dvalishvili holds a career record of 17-4 and has won his past 10 fights, most recently defeating former flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo by unanimous decision at UFC 298 in February.
Other fights announced Friday for the UFC 306 card were a co-main event title scrap between women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko and a featherweight bout between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes, among others.
