Tag: UFC 306

Daily Update: UFC 306 fallout, WWE Bad Blood, Chris Jericho/Mistico

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • Update on AEW rights negotiations and what new things we know about both the deal that is done and the one being worked on  
  • Analysis of AEW, what ratings it would do on FOX, the value structure, why it won’t happen, FS1 coverage and value
  • The problems AEW faces even if it turns profitable with the new deals
  • A look at All In
  • The Jon Moxley angle
  • A look back at the original angle with Terry Funk, why that backfired and how cultural changes mean this one won’t face the same issues
  • Early PPV number estimates for All Out and the reaction to the show
  • Notes on the next AEW PPV show
  • The life of Kuniaki Kobayashi
  • A look at the heyday of New Japan on television and Tiger Mask vs. Kobayashi
  • The jump to All Japan
  • Kobayashi winning match of the year
  • His biggest career bouts
  • His role in making two Hall of Famers by putting them over in their gimmick debuts
  • Life after pro wrestling and battles with cancer
  • His run during a boom period in Mexico
  • The end of Smackdown on FOX and a look back
  • Analyzing why FOX didn’t bid to keep the show
  • The retirement of Demetrious Johnson
  • The business of UFC Noche
  • CMLL’s 91st anniversary show preview
  • Details on a major story in European wrestling
  • The most detailed look at the ratings this past week
  • International TV ratings
  • Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows
  • Arena Mexico notes
  • JBL angle in Mexico
  • New stars in Dragon Gate
  • NOAH goes to Europe
  • New Japan’s big matches of the past week
  • David Taylor the Magic Man comes out of retirement for World Team Trials
  • One of the 80s greatest technical stars to retire next month
  • Andy Quildan talks European business
  • Wrestler to host new television show
  • UFC TV contract news
  • Why WWE is cutting back on house shows
  • How the style of work in wrestling is going to change in the U.S. because of the decline of house shows
  • Lots of notes on Raw with its move to Netflix
  • Notes on the next few PPV shows
  • Change with NXT with the move to CW

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Sunday Update

– Both of our weekend shows are up on the site. We got a lot of great feedback to the variety of stuff we talked about on the Friday show. Last night was UFC, and we talked some about the weekend shows, Smackdown, and what wrestling Terry Funk watched and how he followed it over the last six or so years of his life.

– Gunther vs. Sami Zayn is listed on the internal lineup for a WWE title match at Bad Blood on 10/5, so I guess it’s a six-match show and not a five-match show with the Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu, Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk Hell in a Cell, a teased Nia Jax tag match (depending on next week’s Smackdown tag match result), Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley for the women’s title and Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor.

– Last night’s UFC show had two title changes: Merab Dvalishvili over Sean O’Malley for the welterweight title and Valentina Shevchenko over Alexa Grasso to win the women’s flyweight title. Both matches were complete domination even if the Dvalishvii-O’Malley scorecards don’t indicate it. In each case it was five rounds of mostly takedown and control. Each were so dominant I don’t think there should be a rematch but O’Malley is a big enough star where there could be.

– However, there were two match-of-the-year candidates on the show. the Edgar Chairez vs. Joshua Van fight was topped by Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics. Joe Rogan when the latter fight was over talked of it as one of the greatest fights of all time and that round three may have been the greatest round of all time. I thought the 4/13 Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway fight had the match of the year clinched, and it was higher profile so it gives it the edge. But this was amazing and would win fight of the year in most years, and I can see it having a real shot at winning this year.

– The other story is The Sphere. It was unlike any UFC show to date. It was an amazing production and it led to a much longer-than-usual PPV show, topping four hours for just five fights. The look was amazing and while watching my thought was that WWE and AEW should run the building, but the reality is with the cost it really doesn’t make sense. Maybe WWE could do it for a Mania, but then you can only get 15,000 fans in. But I can’t see spending $20 million for Smackdown or Raw in Vegas next year sandwiched around Mania. AEW I don’t think could financially make it work.

– The gate ended up at $22 million, the largest in MMA history and bigger than any gate in pro wrestling history as well.

– The show did 1 million Google searches, beating out the 500,000 for the Canelo Alvarez win over Edgar Berlanga in the battle of two PPV events head-to-head and both from Las Vegas. We will have an estimate on Alvarez buys later this week but UFC buys are only known to Dana White and ESPN.

– Rey and Dominik Mysterio, seated separately, were shown on the UFC show last night as part of the cross-promotional efforts. They did not sit together for pro wrestling storyline reasons. Dominik didn’t get much of a reaction but Rey got a very big reaction.

– Mistico won the Opera Cup during MLW’s show last night beating Bad Dude Tito and then KENTA. John Layfield who was at the TNA show the night before, was the person who was teased to us as a game-changing surprise for that show. He seems to be wanting to work with promotions all over the U.S. and even outside the U.S.

– I don’t know why AEW announced that Chris Jericho beat Mistico at Aena Mexico on Friday night, both on social media and on TV. There probably is a story behind it. They listed Jericho as winning both on TV and on social media. They did later put out a post saying that Mistico had won the match. We do know that Mistico was always winning and it wasn’t a change in plans at the last minute that people didn’t know about.

– For the weekend, besides the two UFC matches that I did see, the bouts we’ve been told were the weekend highlights were the Hechicero vs. Valiente vs. Euforia vs. Esfinge four-way mask match on Friday’s Arena Mexico show (many saying best match of his year in Mexico), Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Ryohei Oiwa from Saturday’s NOAH show and Zachary Wentz vs. Mike Bailey on the TNA Victory Road show.

– Hechicero thought that he may have torn his right biceps during the four-way match.

– We’re looking for your thoughts from the Arena Mexico anniversary show on Friday so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

– If anyone wants to see the first Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin match from years ago that has been referenced in AEW storyline, it’s from the Brass City Brawl for Northeast Wrestling and is available on Amazon Prime.

– Athena broke the all-time ROH recorde being women’s champion for 646 days. The old ROH record of 645 days for any title was set by Samoa Joe for a 645 day reign as ROH champion.

– The movie “The Killer’s Games starring Dave Bautista and also featuring Drew Galloway (McIntyre) was No. 6 at the box office this weekend. Right now the estimate is that including today it will do $2.6 million, putting it behind Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Speak No Evil, Deadpool & Wolverine, Am I Racist? and Reagan. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is being estimated at $51.6 million for first.

– Guy Evans has a book called Beyond Nitro, a sequel to his Nitro book, that will be released on 11/29

– Rad Lightning (Troy Brostrom, also known as Red Lightning), announced that he had finished his career last night on a show in Eau Claire, WI. He and Austin Aries started together in 1998 under Eddie Sharkey and he’s been doing independents in Minnesota and Wisconsin in particular since that time. He was announced as part of the Steel Domain Wrestling Hall of Fame and got plaques from Northern Lights Wrestling, Midwest All-Star Wrestling, and Steel Domain Wrestling.

– Results from last night’s Showtime Pro Wrestling show: Devlin Kain b Lennox Leone, Kaz Karte b Kyle Por Sierra won three-way over Nick Pride and Ethan Matthews, Ruf Ryde Rashaan b arrison Creed Paul Virk b Joey Avalon, Rad Lightning & Austin Aries & Jason Rage b Brock Hall & Salem Lasher & Bobb Storm. (thanks to Cody Endres)

– Both seasons of the TV show “Heels” on Starz are now streaming on Netflix.

– WPW from last night in Winnipeg: Chad Daniels b Josh Holiday, Danny Duggan & Anderson Tyson Moore b Matt Honey & Brian Singh, Badger Briggs b Priceless Lee, Lince Dorado b Diabl Azeca Sammy Peppers & Mo Jabari & Devon Monroe b Bryce Bentley & Prosperity Gospel, Bobby Schink b Kevin Cannon, Nepaloey Diabel Ronnie Attitude Ava Lawless b Tara Zap. Next show is 10/24 and they already have 1,000 tickets sold for it according to Blair Pacheco.

– Innovate Wrestling Bloody Sunday on 10/13 at 6 p.m. at the Beautiful Bobby Eaton Arena in Kingsport, TN.

Wrestling Observer Radio: UFC 306 recap, SmackDown on USA

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back with our second podcast in two nights. Ryan Frederick joined us for the first segment to recap UFC 306 from The Sphere.

Then, we covered some wrestling news before recapping SmackDown which is back on the USA Network.

Here are some of the topics we covered:

  • The CMLL Anniversary show
  • NXT moving the St. Louis show
  • First day sales for Survivor Series
  • Toni Storm vs. Mayu Iwatani
  • Flair/Thesz award front runners
  • Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns as a tag team
  • RAW matches and segments for Monday
  • Terry Funk’s thoughts on pro wrestling before he passed

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube (video sub needed)

Two new champions crowned at UFC 306

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Two new champions were crowned at UFC 306.

Merab Dvalishvili prevailed over bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in the main event of Saturday’s show at The Sphere in Las Vegas. O’Malley didn’t have much of an answer to most of Dvalishvili’s offense. Although he made a comeback towards the end of the fifth round, it wasn’t enough, and the judges awarded the bout to Dvalishvili on scores of 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47.

O’Malley had held the title for 393 days, defeating Aljamain Sterling back at UFC 292.

In the co-main event, Valentia Shevchenko defeated Alexa Grasso to regain the UFC women’s flyweight title in a unanimous 50-45 decision. Shevchenko mostly dominated by taking down Grosso, with most of the match taking place on the ground. 

This was the third time the two had fought. Grasso defeated Schevchenko back in March of 2023 to win the title. In a rematch last September, their match went to a split draw. Grosso faced no other title challengers before Saturday’s fight.

UFC 306 live results: Noche UFC at The Sphere

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

It’s a historic night in both UFC and sports history with UFC 306: the first-ever sporting event from The Sphere in Las Vegas.

The event is also known as Riyadh Season Noche UFC.

One of the UFC’s biggest stars competes in the main event as bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley defends against top contender Merab Dvalishvili. O’Malley is making his second title defense after coming off a successful title defense over Marlon Vera in March. Dvalishvili finally gets his long-awaited title shot on the heels of ten straight wins.

In the co-main event, the trilogy will conclude as women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso defends against former champion Valentina Shevchenko. Grasso became the champion in a stunning upset when she submitted Shevchenko in March 2023. Grasso remained the champion following a draw in their rematch at the first-ever Noche UFC last September. The two square off for a third time following a stint as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter.

The main card features an exciting featherweight bout pitting former title challenger Brian Ortega vs. rising prospect Diego Lopes. Plus, lightweights Daniel Zellhuber and Esteban Ribovics square off, and a flyweight bout between Ronaldo Rodriguez and Ode Osbourne kicks off the main card. 19-year-old prospect Raul Rosas Jr. will be in the opening bout of the night, taking on Aoriqileng.

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> Bantamweights- Raul Rosas Jr. (9-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Aoriqileng (25-11 1 NC, 3-3 1 NC UFC)

Rosas mixing kicks early. Aoriqileng lands a right hand after Rosas lands a body kick. They trade right hands. Aoriqileng lands a nice right hand. Rosas lands a kick and then scores a takedown. Rosas with some body shots from inside the guard of Aoriqileng. Rosas moves to half-guard and is trying to pass to side control. He gets to side control then moves to full mount before Aoriqileng gives up his back. Rosas looking for a choke. Rosas with punches from the back. Rosas landing from the back and gets on top and lands to end the round. 10-9 Rosas Jr.

Aoriqileng lands a right hand. Rosas with a leg kick. Rosas looks for a takedown but Aoriqileng defends. Rosas with another inside leg kick as both are being patient. Rosas lands a combination. Aoriqileng lands a right hand. He lands another right hand. They trade in close range as both land some big shots. Aoriqileng with a right hand to the body. Aoriqileng with a body kick. 10-9 Aoriqileng, 19-19.

They trade punches and kicks. Rosas scores a takedown. Aoriqileng is able to crab walk to the fence as Rosas has the body lock. They stand with Rosas still having body control and scores another takedown. Rosas is in side control and lands some right hands. Aoriqileng gives up his back and Rosas lands some knees. Rosas ends up back on top inside the guard. Rosas with some big body punches from the top. He continues to land while in full control on the top. 10-9 Rosas Jr., 29-28 Rosas Jr.

Official Result- Raul Rosas Jr. def. Aoriqileng by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Flyweights- Edgar Chairez (11-5 1 NC, 1-1 1 NC UFC) vs. Joshua Van (10-2, 3-1 UFC)

Both land leg kicks early on. Chairez with a body kick. Van lands a jab. Chairez with a pair of leg kicks. Chairez with a calf kick as Van lands a jab. Chairez with a leg kick then a jab. Chairez lands a right hand and then another. Chairez with a heavy leg kick. Van lands a combination but Chairez counters with a knee and goes back to leg kicks. Chairez with a jab. Van lands a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Chairez with a jab. They trade left hooks. Chairez with a pair of jabs and a leg kick. Chairez lands a right hand and Van briefly goes down. Van lands a combo. Chairez with a spin kick. 10-9 Chairez.

Chairez with a jumping knee. Chairez working the jab. They trade leg kicks. Van with a leg kick followed by a combination. Both land the jab. Chairez with a jab. Van with a leg kick and Van lands a combo to the body. Van with a flurry and hurts Chairez with a right hand. Van with a big flurry mixing to the head and body as Chairez is on the retreat. Van with a big right hand. Van with some big punches and knees to the body. Van lands some big punches then Chairez hurts Van with a spinning back fist and lands some more. Van gets a takedown after all of that madness. Van lands from the top and they get to their feet. Van with a flurry of punches. Van lands some more to the body. Chairez lands a right hand and then another big right hand. Van gets a takedown but Chairez has a guillotine choke locked in. Van gets out. Van landing from the top. 10-9 Van, 19-19.

Chairez working the jab and leg kick to start the third. Chairez working the jab as they trade right hands. Van with a right hand. They trade the jab. Van trips Chairez to the mat and gets on top. They stand and Van tries to drop down and attack a leg. They get to their feet and Chairez has the back along the fence. Van picks Chairez up and drops him down to the mat and works from the top. Chairez looking for a triangle choke. Van with some punches from the top as he mixes to the head and body. Van lands from the top as the fight goes the distance. 10-9 Van, 29-28 Van.

Official Result- Joshua Van def. Edgar Chairez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Women’s Strawweights- Yazmin Jauregui (11-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Ketlen Souza (14-4, 1-1 UFC)

They trade leg kicks. Jauregui lands a combination ending with a body kick then lands a nice right hand. Souza with a front kick to the body then a left hand. Timeout is called for a groin strike. They get back to action and Jauregui lands. Jauregui with a pair of leg kicks. Jauregui with a combo as Souza lands a leg kick. Jauregui with a jumping knee and they trade elbows. Another groin strike happens and another timeout. Souza then drops Jauregui with a right hand and jumps on back and locks on a rear-naked choke. It is in deep and Jauregui goes out cold! What a finish from Souza!

Official Result- Ketlen Souza def. Yazmin Jauregui by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of Round 1

> Lightweights- Manuel Torres (15-2, 3-0 UFC) vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (15-5, 4-2 UFC)

Torres with a heavy leg kick. Torres lands a body kick then slips to the mat, but gets right up. Torres lands a stiff left hand. He backs it up with a combination and lands some kicks. Bahamondes with a body kick. They clinch and Torres lands a knee. They separate. They trade inside the pocket. Bahamondes lands a head kick as Torres was trying to tie up. Bahamondes with a heavy body kick. Bahamondes drops Torres with a right hand and starts landing from the top as Torres is covering up. Torres grabs Bahamondes and has him inside his guard. They get to their feet and separate. Torres lands a combo. Bahamondes drops Torres again with a right hand and finishes it off with some follow-up shots from the top. What a finish from Bahamondes!

Official Result- Ignacio Bahamondes def. Manuel Torres by TKO (punches) at 4:02 of Round 1

> Women’s Bantamweights- #5 Irene Aldana (15-7, 8-5 UFC) vs. #8 Norma Dumont (11-2, 7-2 UFC)

Dumont with a leg kick. She lands another as Aldana presses forward. Dumont with another leg kick. Aldana with a leg kick. Dumont lands a jab. Dumont with a heavy leg kick. She lands another. Aldana with a right hand. Dumont lands a right hand. Aldana with a right hand. Dumont lands a combo. Aldana with a left hook. Dumont lands a right hand. They trade late. 10-9 Dumont.

Aldana lands a right hand. Dumont with a combo. Dumont with an inside leg kick and she is still landing more punches. They trade leg kicks. Aldana with a left hand. They trade in close range. Aldana lands a jab. Dumont comes forward with a flurry. Dumont with a jab and Aldana lands a leg kick. They continue to trade with Dumont landing with far more volume. Aldana lands a nice left hand but Dumont returns fire. Aldana lands a right hand and Dumont counters and cuts Aldana open late in the round. 10-9 Dumont, 20-18 Dumont.

Aldana is bleeding all over the place and comes out firing and lands a knee. Dumont with a front kick to the body. Aldana with a left hook. Dumont working the jab. Dumont lands a combination. Aldana lands a right hand as Dumont lands a jab. Aldana lands an elbow and Dumont is cut open and may have a facial injury. Aldana starting to land more. Aldana lands a right hand. Aldana is pressing forward but eats a jab from Dumont. Dumont with a left hook. Aldana is an eight on the Muta Scale. They trade left hooks. They continue to trade. Dumont with a jab and a right hand. They clinch near the end. 10-9 Dumont, 30-27 Dumont.

Official Result- Norma Dumont def. Irene Aldana by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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> Flyweights- Ronaldo Rodriguez (16-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Ode Osbourne (12-7, 4-5 UFC)

Osbourne lands a left hand and then another and then a body kick. He lands another body kick. Osbourne drops Rodriguez with a right hand and starts landing. Rodriguez looked out and now Osbourne locks in a triangle choke. It looks tight. Osbourne with elbows from the bottom. Rodriguez is trying to escape and is somehow able to. Osbourne with elbows from his back. Rodriguez with a pair of elbows from the top. Osbourne with some hammerfists from the bottom. They’re both landing on the mat. Rodriguez has been able to recover. 10-9 Osbourne.

They trade and Osbourne goes for a guillotine choke but Rodriguez is able to escape and gets the back of Osbourne. Rodriguez with some big punches from the back. Rodriguez is now on top with the body triangle mount and lands some big punches and elbows. They scramble but Rodriguez ends up in full mount. Rodriguez gets the back and lands some elbows and looks for a choke. Rodriguez still working from the back as he is dominating. Osbourne is able to reverse to the top and he lands some punches from the top. 10-9 Rodriguez, 19-19.

They trade. Rodriguez shoots for a takedown but Osbourne sprawls out. Osbourne lands a pair of punches then some leg kicks. Osbourne lands a big shot to the body. Rodriguez lands a left hook. Osbourne lands a pair of jabs as Rodriguez misses some spin kicks. Osbourne shoots for a takedown but Rodriguez defends. They trade left hands. Osbourne gets a takedown. Rodriguez is attacking the kimura from the bottom. They work to the feet. Osbourne with a jab. They scramble to the mat and Rodriguez ends up on top. Rodriguez with some big punches from the top to end it. Close fight. 10-9 Rodriguez, 29-28 Rodriguez.

Official Result- Ronaldo Rodriguez def. Ode Osbourne by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)

> Lightweights- Daniel Zellhuber (15-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Esteban Ribovics (13-1, 2-1 UFC)

Zellhuber with a body kick. Ribovics lands a leg kick. Zellhuber lands a combo. Zellhuber with a jab. Ribovics with a leg kick. Zellhuber lands a body kick then they trade leg kicks. Zellhuber with a combination. Zellhuber with a high kick. Ribovics lands to the body. Zellhuber lands a body kick. Zellhuber with a combo to the body. Ribovics lands a nice flurry. They trade in close range. Zellhuber lands a big combination ending with a body punch. Close round. 10-9 Ribovics.

Zellhuber landing to start the second. Zellhuber lands a right hand. Ribovics lands a jab and then a right hand. Zellhuber with a body kick. Ribovics lands a flurry. They trade inside the pocket. Zellhuber with a front kick up the middle. Zellhuber lands a nice jab. Ribovics with a leg kick. Zellhuber with a combination. Ribovics lands a right hand. Both are landing pretty evenly. Ribovics with a combination. Zellhuber lands a right hand. They trade. Ribovics with some low leg kicks and Zellhuber lands a body kick. They trade inside the pocket. Close round. 10-9 Zellhuber, 19-19.

Zellhuber with a head kick as they’re both throwing to start the third. Zellhuber with a knee after they exchange. Zellhuber lands an elbow. Zellhuber lands a big right hand. Ribovics with a solid combo. Zellhuber rocks Ribovics with some elbows. Ribovics tries for a takedown but Zellhuber defends and they trade as they break. Timeout for an eye poke. They get back to action and Zellhuber with a right hand. Ribovics rocks Zellhuber with a right hand. Ribovics throwing big punches against the fence as Zellhuber is in trouble. Big shots continue from Ribovics. Zellhuber is circling away. Ribovics landing and Zellhuber is moving around. Ribovics landing to the head and body. They trade big punches. Zellhuber lands a big right hand. They are both swinging for the fences. Zellhuber with a knee and lands a big right hand. Zellhuber with more big punches. They both land big punches. Ribovics with a big combination and lands a big right hand. They have a wild last ten seconds with both landing. Incredible fight. 10-9 Ribovics, 29-28 Ribovics.

Official Result- Esteban Ribovics def. Daniel Zellhuber by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

> Featherweights- #3 Brian Ortega (16-3 1 NC, 8-3 1 NC UFC) vs. #13 Diego Lopes (25-6, 4-1 UFC)

Lopes connects early and hurts Ortega. Lopes chases him around and lands and they go to the mat. Lopes with big ground strikes. Lopes lands a left hand. Lopes continues to control from the top. Lopes gets up and lets Ortega up. Ortega with a jab. They trade leg kicks. Ortega with a jab. Lopes with a right hand. Lopes with a combo. Ortega lands a body kick. 10-9 Lopes.

They trade to start the second. Lopes with a leg kick. Ortega with some calf kicks. Lopes lands a right hand. Lopes lands some leg kicks. Lopes with a head kick. Lopes lands a leg kick and Ortega slips to the mat as the leg kicks are affecting him. Ortega gets up. Lopes with another hard leg kick. Ortega lands a right hand. Ortega with a jab. 10-9 Lopes, 20-18 Lopes.

Lopes with a left hand and a leg kick. They trade inside the pocket. Both land in close range and Ortega lands a jab. Ortega with another jab and follows it with a combination. Ortega working the jab. Lopes lands a right hand. Ortega looks for a takedown but Lopes defends. They trade in close range. Lopes lands a solid left hook. Lopes with a leg kick then a right hand. Lopes with a flurry and lands a left hand and Ortega goes to the mat. Lopes lands from the top as Ortega stands and they trade big shots late. 10-9 Lopes, 30-27 Lopes.

Official Result- Diego Lopes def. Brian Ortega by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

> UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship- C Alexa Grasso (16-3-1, 8-3-1 UFC) vs. #1 Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1, 12-3-1 UFC)

Grasso advances forwards and throws. Shevchenko lands a left hand. Shevchenko lands a solid right hand after they exchange. They trade jabs. Shevchenko lands and scores a takedown. Shevchenko lands from the top. Grasso looks for a triangle choke then grabs the arm for an armbar attempt. Shevchenko gets out and remains inside Grasso’s guard. Shevchenko staying on top as Grasso looks for a choke, but Shevchenko gets her neck free. Shevchenko lands from the top and gets the mount and then the back late. 10-9 Shevchenko.

Shevchenko lands as both are feeling each other out. Shevchenko gets a takedown. Both landing soft body punches as Shevchenko is staying on top. Grasso is trying to escape from the bottom and looks for an arm. Shevchenko escapes and gets into side control. Grasso escapes and they get to their feet but Shevchenko gets it right back down. Shevchenko gets to side control but Grasso has a triangle choke and arm attempt. Shevchenko gets out. Shevchenko lands from the top. 10-9 Shevchenko, 20-18 Shevchenko.

Grasso with a leg kick. Shevchenko with a jab. Shevchenko with a leg kick. They trade and Shevchenko lands a knee. Shevchenko tries a takedown but Grasso defends though Shevchenko lands a body kick. They trade. Shevchenko gets a takedown. Shevchenko working from the top and now inside the half-guard. Shevchenko gets to full mount but Grasso gets her back inside of her guard. Shevchenko remains on top and lands before taking the back late. 10-9 Shevchenko, 30-27 Shevchenko.

Shevchenko gets it to the mat early. She works from the top. Grasso looks for a guillotine choke. Shevchenko landing to the body as she defends. Grasso rolls and gets it to the mounted guillotine as Shevchenko still lands to the body. Shevchenko pops out and is inside the guard of Grasso. Shevchenko gets to the half-guard. Shevchenko looks for an arm-triangle choke. She is too high and loses it. Shevchenko gets to side control. Shevchenko gets to the crucifix position late and lands. 10-9 Shevchenko, 40-36 Shevchenko.

Both looking for openings on the feet but neither really landing in the first minute. Shevchenko shoots for a takedown but Grasso defends. Grasso lands and grabs the body of Shevchenko. Grasso gets it down into the mount but they scramble right up. Shevchenko gets it to the mat but they stand and separate. Shevchenko lands a combo and gets a takedown, but they stand and clinch against the fence. Shevchenko controlling and they break apart. Shevchenko gets it down late and in side control before taking the back at the end. 10-9 Shevchenko, 50-45 Shevchenko.

Official Result- Valentina Shevchenko def. Alexa Grasso by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) to win the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

> UFC Bantamweight Championship- C Sean O’Malley (18-1 1 NC, 10-1 1 NC UFC) vs. #1 Merab Dvalishvili (17-4, 10-2 UFC)

Dvalishvili with a high kick. O’Malley with a left hand to the body. O’Malley with a left hand. Dvalishvili with a body kick. O’Malley lands a jab. Dvalishvili with a leg kick. O’Malley lands a jab then to the body then another jab. Dvalishvili gets a takedown. They get to their feet and Dvalishvili lands some punches. Dvalishvili with some knees. They get to their feet and separate. Dvalishvili lands a right hand and gets a takedown. He looks for a guillotine choke. They get to their feet. 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Neither have landed in the first 90 seconds here in the second round. They trade jabs. Dvalishvili gets a takedown. Dvalishvili working inside the guard and landing. O’Malley looking for a triangle choke from the bottom and grabs inside the glove of Dvalishvili and Herb Dean stops it to take away the position. Dvalishvili continues to land from the top. Dvalishvili with some knees to the body. He lands some knees to the thighs. Dvalishvili grabs the neck and looks for a choke. 10-9 Dvalishvili, 20-18 Dvalishvili.

O’Malley with a body kick. He lands a right hand to the body. Dvalishvili looks for a takedown and pushes it to the fence and lands a knee. Dvalishvili grabs the neck. Dvalishvili with a bunch of knees as he’s controlling O’Malley. They break apart. O’Malley with a body kick. Dvalishvili with some leg kicks. O’Malley lands a left hand. O’Malley lands a right hand. O’Malley with a left hand and lands a knee. 10-9 Dvalishvili, 30-27 Dvalishvili.

O’Malley lands a right hand. O’Malley with a quick jab and lands an overhand right. Dvalishvili gets the takedown. O’Malley landed an elbow that cut Dvalishvili open. Dvalishvili landing short punches. Dvalishvili in total control from the top. Dvalishvili with some punches from the back as they stand. Dvalishvili with some knees to the legs and thighs. Dvalishvili landing and has neck control. Dvalishvili with big shots from the top late and lands as they stand. 10-9 Dvalishvili, 40-36 Dvalishvili.

Nothing happens for the first 90 seconds before Dvalishvili gets a takedown into mount. They get to the fence and Dvalishvili lands knees to the legs and thighs. They get to their feet and Dvalishvili with some right hands before they separate. O’Malley lands a right hand. O’Malley hurts Dvalishvili with a body kick. He lands again. Dvalishvili shoots and eats an uppercut from O’Malley. Dvalishvili shoots for a takedown but O’Malley defends. O’Malley with a knee then a front kick to the body. O’Malley lands to the body. Dvalishvili gets a takedown late. 10-9 O’Malley, 49-46 Dvalishvili.

Official Result- Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O’Malley by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship

Wrestling Observer Radio: The fallout from All Out, AEW on Max?

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over the big stories in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube (video sub needed)

Here are some of the topics we covered:

  • AEW on WBD’s Max streaming service?
  • The possibility of an AEW show on a Fox network
  • Chair shots in wrestling
  • AEW Grand Slam changes
  • All Out PPV business
  • AEW TV ratings
  • SmackDown returning to USA and Raw heading on Netflix
  • CMLL’s 91st Anniversary show
  • UFC 306 preview
  • “The Wrestler” with Verne Gagne and Ed Asner

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube (video sub needed)