UFC 306 results: Dvalishvili stuns O'Malley, Shevchenko dethrones Grasso

Brett Okamoto: On Saturday, the 29-year-old O'Malley (18-1) will headline perhaps the highest-profile event in the UFC's 30-year history. According to CEO Dana White, Noche UFC inside Sphere in Las Vegas will be a "one-and-done" event, due to the sheer cost ($20 million, according to White) of putting it on. Individual seats for the UFC 306 card headlined by O'Malley's bantamweight title defense against Merab Dvalishvili (17-4) have been listed for as much as $13,000 during fight week. It's the kind of event every fighter -- or, more accurately, prizefighter -- dreams of. Even Conor McGregor, who has had a bit of a nasty public back-and-forth with O'Malley this year, wanted to headline this Sphere event, potentially against his old rival Nate Diaz. O'Malley admired McGregor until this year, and even said he's tried to mimic parts of his career off McGregor's. Ultimately, the honor and responsibility of headlining UFC 306 went to O'Malley.

Which is exactly what O'Malley wanted. He started his camp for this particular fight date before the UFC even offered it to him.

Sitting in this very living room where he stands today, O'Malley used to dream of fame and money, money and fame. Those dreams began as early as middle school, when he used to picture himself suiting up for an NFL team on Sundays. When he reached high school, he came to terms that he was too small to ever play in the NFL. Perhaps non-coincidentally, that's also the exact same time in his life he started to kickbox.

UFC champion Sean O'Malley reflects on his rise to stardom

Turki, Canelo, Dana and Rock battle for No. 1

Mike Coppinger: Many of the most powerful figures in the fight game will converge on Las Vegas this week for a rare offering, one that features boxing's top star, Canelo Alvarez, and the first live sporting event at the revolutionary Sphere with UFC 306.

Canelo's unified super middleweight championship defense vs. long-odds underdog Edgar Berlanga and Sean O'Malley's UFC bantamweight title fight against Merab Dvalishvili will coincide Saturday evening, an unusual conflict of high-profile combat sports events in Las Vegas.

And with it, the fight game's power players will all be represented in person between both events. There's Turki Alalshikh, whose lucrative Riyadh Season sponsorship helped make it possible for Dana White and the UFC to hold an event at the exorbitantly priced Sphere. White said the cost of the immersive venue has topped $20 million. It's the first pay-per-view event from White that isn't simply billed as UFC followed by a numeral.

With some of the biggest names going head-to-head on Saturday night in Las Vegas, who's pulling the strings in the fight game? ESPN spoke to 30-plus industry power players -- fighters, promoters, executives, lawyers, managers and media -- to help determine who currently holds all the influence across boxing, MMA and pro wrestling and how they wield it.

The 15 most influential people in boxing, MMA and wrestling

UFC 306 storylines: Will any fight outshine the venue itself?

Jeff Wagenheim: At first glance, the UFC's approach to celebrating Mexican Independence Day this coming weekend seems perplexing.

UFC 306, which takes place Saturday at Sphere in Las Vegas, is headlined by a fight between an Irish-American from Montana and a New Yorker transplanted from the Republic of Georgia. And to add to the quizzically all-over-the-map motif, the event is sponsored by an arm of the government of Saudi Arabia.

Branding and marquee toppers aside, though, there will indeed be a Mexican theme permeating the second annual Noche UFC (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET). Before the main event between men's bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, all nine of the evening's other bouts will feature a Mexico-born or Mexican American fighter. The co-main event pits women's flyweight champion Alexa Grasso -- out of Guadalajara in the Mexican state of Jalisco -- against former titlist Valentina Shevchenko, to complete a trilogy that's already full of twists.

Beyond the competitive stakes, the overarching ambiance of the night promises to visually and aurally transport fans south of the border. This first sporting event at Sphere, the cutting-edge entertainment venue that opened last year just off the Las Vegas Strip, will take full advantage of the mind-numbing technology built into the humongous round structure. Throughout the night, the UFC will use the 160,000-square-foot wraparound LED screen and concert-quality sound system to tell the story of combat sports in Mexico.

Championship fights. Breathtaking production. Big-time stakes. There will be storylines swirling all around the spherical wonder of UFC 306. Here are a few to pay attention to.

UFC 306 storylines: How Sphere, Suga Sean will shape a historic event

What fans can expect at Noche UFC

Andreas Hale: The UFC has kept a tight lid on the specifics regarding their venture into Sphere for UFC 306 on Sept. 14. However, ahead of the event -- which UFC CEO Dana White has suggested will be the greatest sporting event of all time -- the promotion has revealed some key details about what fans should expect out of the $2.3 billion venue during Mexican Independence Day weekend.

The UFC will utilize Sphere's massive 160,000 square feet of interior display plane and the venue's world-class concert-grade audio system. The interior display plane will also showcase real-time stats and fighter information.

Fans inside Sphere will feel the action courtesy of haptic seating, which provides force feedback based on the action inside the Octagon. And they have the option to download the LiveVoice app to listen to live commentary from either the English or Spanish broadcast.

The event will also premiere the film "For Mexico, For All Time," told in six 90-second chapters between fights and displayed inside Sphere. The creative team behind the film boasts 29 Emmy Award wins, one Golden Globe and one Grammy.

There will be eight new Octagon girls, six native-born Mexican women and two second-generation Mexicans.

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