UFC’s Las Vegas Sphere Experiment: UFC Noche O’Malley vs Dvalishvili
The Las Vegas sphere arena has been an eye-catcher for most performers. Now, UFC has become the first combat sport league to use the venue. UFC president Dana White has confirmed that the UFC has already spent over $20 million on using the venue for UFC Noche; doing an event that big has come with some obstacles, and that obstacle is Canelo Alvarez boxing at the same time at a Las Vegas venue. The Canelo Alvarez fight has forced the UFC to lower the prices on their UFC Noche tickets since the tickets didn’t sell out as the UFC anticipated. Dana White describes UFC Noche as a once in a lifetime event, and Dana also stated that this is the only time the UFC will book an event at the Las Vegas sphere. Dana added that UFC Noche will have a movie that will constantly be going as the fights are commencing with worlds that will change after every fight. Dana hinted that there will be Easter eggs in the films, and one lucky fan could win $25,000 by finding all the Easter eggs in the films, so MMA fans should definitely be in for a treat. UFC Noche is a stacked card and will be a double title fight headliner with Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili and Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3.
Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
The main event consists of the highly anticipated match-up between the UFC bantamweight champion “Suga” Sean O’Malley and Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili. This fight seems to be the classic striker vs wrestler match-up. However, oddsmakers have Sean O’Malley favored to win this fight over Merab. Usually, in a match-up with these styles, the wrestler overcomes and dominates the striker. What makes this fight intriguing is Sean O’Malley, who is a sniper with power. When Sean lands a clean shot, his opponents stumble. Out of the 18 wins on Sean’s record, 12 of those come by knockout. Merab lives up to the name “The Machine.” the pace and pressure He puts on his opponents are hard enough to deal with, not including his other attributes. Merab is also equipped with a long-lasting gas tank and stellar wrestling.
The keys to success for Sean O’Malley are to keep the fight in the center of the octagon, stay away from the cage, and use his tricky footwork to set up counters. O’Malley would have to stay away from the cage, and Sean does have good takedown defense. However, if he gets taken down, Merab will waste no time trying to dominate Sean on the ground. The Keys to success for Merab are to pressure Sean to the cage, constantly search for the takedown, and not over-extend his punches. Merab's teammate Aljamain Sterling was TKO by Sean O’Malley, and Merab does get stunned in his fights. If he would overextend on his punches, he may have an early night like Aljamain Sterling.
Alexa Grasso VS Valentina Shevchenko 3
The co-main event consists of the fight to potentially end the Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko trilogy. The trilogy was set up after their last fight was judged a split draw, leaving Alexa Grasso as the women’s Flyweight Champion. Alexa first won the title off of Valentina during UFC 285 when Alexa Grasso Submitted Valentina via rear naked choke, making Grasso the first person to submit Valentina. Alexa comes in as a slight favorite to beat the former champion in the oddsmakers' eyes.
Just like their second fight, I expect this fight to be very close. The keys to success for Alexa Grasso are to keep the fight standing and use the boxing that she is known for. Grasso surprised us with her submission win over Valentina in the first fight, yet the likelihood of that happening again is slim. In their second fight, Grasso’s kryptonite was Valentina’s wrestling. The keys to success for Valentina Shevchenko are to use her elite Muay Thai striking to pressure Alexa, clinch up with Grasso when she’s looking for her boxing combinations, and take the fight to the ground. If anyone is getting a KO in this fight, it is Valentina.
UFC Noche predictions
UFC Noche is set to be a great card, with 2 title fights, a high-stakes featherweight contender fight between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes, which was supposed to happen at UFC 303, and a list of other fights including rising bantamweight Star Raul Rosas JR. In the fight of Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili, I can’t lean on who might win. However, I think if Sean did win, it would definitely be by KO. Merab has a tendency to get too excited and get clipped in striking exchanges. Merab can’t afford to get clipped by O’Malley, who is a powerful sniper.
If Merab would touch gold on Saturday night, it would definitely be by decision. Merab would be able to take Sean down, make Sean exhausted by the pressure of wrestling, and show his dominance through all five rounds. In the fight between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, I’m going to lean towards a Valentina Shevchenko split decision win. I believe with the success she had with her wrestling in their second fight. She would use her wrestling more heavily in the trilogy with Alexa Grasso.
With UFC Noche being Saturday night, we won't have to wait too much longer to see if we will keep or have new champions by Sunday morning and if UFC’s experiment with the Las Vegas Sphere is successful.
