#NocheUFC from Sphere Vegas
September 14th!!!! Fight Club Monday pre-sale. pic.twitter.com/jABnXWAUPw
— UFC (@ufc)
July 26, 2024
All 20 contestants have been selected to take part in the Ultimate Fighting Championship extravaganza at The Sphere.
On September 14, the organization will host UFC 306 (also known as “Noche UFC”) at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The venue, which has a reported capacity of 18,600, will be the site of a one-time pay-per-view card featuring Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight championship. The organization announced its full 10-bout lineup on Friday, including a re-pairing of Brian Ortega (16-3, 1 no-kick) and Diego Lopez (25-6) in the “Battles of the Night” section.
Ortega and Lopez were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 303, but issues arose the week of the fight over Ortega’s weight, which then escalated into health issues for the fighter. The bout, scheduled at featherweight and 155 pounds, fell apart the night of the event. UFC had scheduled Dan Ige to face Lopez just hours before, in a 165-pound catchweight bout that ended with Lopez winning. UFC said it plans to reschedule the bout at a later date.
Prior to his fight against Ige, RoboGym’s MMA export had three consecutive first-round finishes in the Octagon. After losing to unbeaten Movsar Evloev in his short-notice debut, the Brazilian tapped out Gavin Tucker in 98 seconds, punched out Pat Sabatini in 90 seconds and drummed out Sodiq Yusuf in 89 seconds — all within a year. As a pro, the 29-year-old native of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, has scored 88 percent of his wins by stoppage, with knockouts and submissions split almost evenly.
While the bout ultimately did not happen, Ortega fought to make the appropriate weight limit of 146 pounds before the June 29 bout. “T-City,” like Lopez, was called up to the bout on short notice, but had to request a weight class change for the bout, moving to lightweight. Ortega weighed in at 155 pounds, but a subsequent illness cost him his chance to compete in the big show. If Ortega wins, it will mark his first consecutive win streak since 2018, when he lost a six-fight title bout to Max Holloway.
In addition to Ortega vs. Lopez, UFC has scheduled the night’s 10 bouts, which include O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili and Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko. The main card will close with a lightweight showdown between Daniel Zellhuber (15-1) and Esteban Rybovic, while the flyweight division will feature a showdown between Ronaldo Rodriguez (16-2) and Ode Osborne (12-7, 1 no-kick), followed by the previously announced 135-pound showdown between Raul Rosas Jr. and Kiren Awori.
