UFC CEO Dana White enjoyed a successful night of business for the promotion at UFC 306 but wasn’t thrilled with the two top fights on the card.
Dana White
White organized an unprecedented live sporting event at the Sphere in Las Vegas this weekend. UFC 306 featured a little of everything; including live entertainment featuring state-of-the-art visuals and graphics.
UFC 306
UFC 306 included many exciting fights, including the lightweight brawl between Esteban Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber. White awarded both fighters with the ‘Fight of the Night’ post-fight bonus.
While the leadup was superb, the two title fights didn’t live up to the immense pre-event hype. Merab Dvalishvili and Valentina Shevchenko earned the belts but didn’t perform excitingly in terms of volume and high-octane action.
White, a routine clamorer for jaw-dropping brawls, didn’t feel the UFC 306 title fights did a good job of introducing new fans to the sport.
Dana White isn’t happy with UFC 306 title fights
During the UFC 306 post-fight press conference, White gave a less-than-glowing review of the two title fights on the card.
“You can put on $20 million worth of production, but you can’t control the fights. They’re going to be what they are,” White said. “So I cannot let that drive me crazy… Our fanbase grew 69% during COVID. Some people probably tuned in for the first time, hopefully they turned off before the co-main event.” (h/t SportsKeeda)
Valentina Shevchenko And Merab Dvalishvili
Shevchenko and Dvalishvili both earned unanimous decision victories. White didn’t award post-fight performance bonuses to either title winner.
Shevchenko reclaimed the UFC flyweight title after back-to-back winless outings against Grasso. Dvalishvili ended O’Malley’s title reign by shutting down his striking and utilizing a wrestling-heavy approach.
UFC 306 made many memories at the Sphere. But, if White has any negative points, the two title fights didn’t live up to his lofty expectations.