UFC 306 is set to be a historic event, taking place at The Sphere in Las Vegas this Saturday. The card features two title fights: bantamweight champion “Sugar” Sean O’Malley looking to defend his title against Merab Dvalishvili and flyweight queen Alexa Grasso looking to remain unbeaten in the trilogy against former champ Valentina Shevchenko.
The main card is rounded out by Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes; Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics and Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode Osbourne.
There are five preliminary card fights on UFC 306, so let’s preview each of them.
Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
From a rankings standpoint, this is the most important fight on the UFC 306 prelims. Aldana, a former title challenger, is ranked at No. 5 at bantamweight, while Dumont is ranked No. 8.
With a new champion in Raquel Pennington looking to make her first title defense against Julianna Pena after defeating Mayra Bueno Silva following the retirement of Amanda Nunes, the women’s bantamweight division has not been this wide open since Holly Holm ended Ronda Rousey‘s reign.
A win for either Aldana or Dumont may not earn a title shot, but each woman could perhaps be just one more win away after. So this fight is crucial for both. Aldana got back into the win column over Karol Rosa, while Dumont is riding a four-fight winning streak.
Kayla Harrison and Ketlen Vieira are set to throw down in a likely title eliminator on Oct. 5, so the winner of Aldana and Dumont may compete in another title eliminator in the winter or spring of next year.
Manuel Torres vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
Bahamondes, primarily a striker, will take on the more rounded Torres in a fun lightweight clash. Bahamondes is coming off a head kick KO of Christos Giagos and is the winner of four of his last five.
Torres, meanwhile, is 3-0 in the UFC after winning on the Contender Series in 2021. After fighting only once each in 2022 and 2023, Torres is set to make his second appearance of 2024. He has wins over Chris Duncan, Nikolas Motta and Frank Camacho.
Torres likely has more hype on him than Bahamondes, but either man can catch a lot of buzz with an impressive win in the Sphere and allow them to continue climbing the ladder of the deep lightweight division.
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
Jauregui enters this bout likely on the precipice of earning a top-15 bout. She has a win over No. 14-ranked strawweight Iasmin Lucindo but suffered an upset loss to Denise Gomes. Jauregui rebounded with a win over Sam Hughes and will look to make it two in a row when she meets Souza. Given her win over Lucindo, Jauregui should get a crack at a ranked opponent if she beats Souza.
But it goes both ways. A win over a highly touted prospect in Jauregui would be the biggest of Souza’s career to date and could fast-track her to a top-15 opponent. Souza is 1-1 in the UFC, earning a win over Marnic Mann.
Jauregui, a Mexican, will likely have the UFC Noche crowd on her side and will look to stamp her ticket to the upper echelon of the 115-pound division.
Edgar Chairez vs. Joshua Van
Van suffered his first UFC loss to Charles Johnson in his last outing. He will look to get back on track against Chairez after he won his first three UFC bouts, including defeating Zhalgas Zhumagulov in his debut.
Chairez submitted Daniel Lacerda after the first bout between the two ended in a no-contest when the referee thought Lacerda tapped out but did not. Chairez put a stamp on it in the rematch and now shifts his focus to Van in what should be fun flyweight scrap.
Chairez and Van are both known for their finishing abilities. Chairez has finished all 11 of his professional wins, while Van has finished eight of 10 of his.
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng
Rosas Jr., the prospect with the most hype behind him on the prelims, and arguably UFC 306, opens up the show against Aoriqileng. Rosas Jr. is 3-1 in the UFC, finishing all three of his wins: Ricky Turcios, Terrence Mitchell and Jay Perrin.
Aoriqileng poses a stylistic clash, as he is predominantly a striker, while Rosas Jr.’s best work comes in the grappling. At 25-11 as a pro, Aoriqileng is by far Rosas Jr.’s most experienced opponent, which adds another interesting wrinkle to Rosas Jr.’s development. Christian Rodriguez, a solid prospect himself, has become a bit of a prospect killer for the UFC. He handed Rosas Jr. his first professional loss in Rosas Jr.’s second fight in the Octagon – in his third fight in the UFC. Turcios was a step up after the loss, and Rosas Jr. passed the test. Aoriqileng is another step up in the experience edge. Can Rosas Jr. pass with flying colors once again? Or will it be a case of too much, too soon, like Rodriguez?
For Aoriqileng, a win over Rosas Jr. would be huge for his stock going forward.
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