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After what feels like a lengthy build, we're now just days away from Noche UFC 306: Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili. The event feels like it has the potential to be one of 2024's best.
Part of the high hopes for Noche UFC 306 come from the fact that there are many lethal, entertaining finishers set to fight in the event.
With experts in both knockouts and submissions up and down the card, this event should be a must-watch for any fans.
Here are the five best finishes from the stars of Noche UFC 306: Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili.
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#5. Diego Lopes vs. Pat Sabatini - UFC 295
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Diego Lopes, who is set to fight Brian Ortega in what could be a featherweight title eliminator, is still a relative newcomer to the UFC.
However, it's safe to say that the Mexico-based Brazilian has made his mark since he arrived in the octagon in May 2023.
Lopes has now won four fights in a row, and while his wins over Dan Ige and Sodiq Yusuff allowed him to climb into the top 15, his best finish came over Pat Sabatini in his third octagon appearance.
The fight lasted just over a minute, but the sheer amount of violence Lopes packed into the fight was insane. After a brief period, he stunned Sabatini with a short uppercut, and then flatlined him with a right to the temple, leaving him out on his feet.
From there, a salvo of strikes sent him crashing into the cage and down to the ground, where Lopes pounced and finished him off. He even trapped Sabatini's arm behind his back to expose his head to clean punches for good measure.
Even on an event full of nasty finishes, this one practically stole the show for its sheer brutality, and it unsurprisingly landed Lopes with a $50k bonus. If he uncorks similar this weekend, he may well steal an even bigger show.
#4. Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko - UFC 285
With only two finishes to her name in an octagon career spanning 12 fights, Alexa Grasso is perhaps not best known for knocking out or submitting her opponents.
However, only a fool would argue that she didn't score an all-time classic finish in her first bout with Valentina Shevchenko - the fight that made her the UFC flyweight champion.
Despite a solid win streak behind her, nobody was giving Grasso a chance of winning. After all, 'The Bullet' had won her last nine bouts and was looking for her eighth successful title defense.
Indeed, after a solid start from Grasso, it looked like business as usual for Shevchenko. She began to dominate the Mexican, both on the feet and on the ground. At that stage, it felt like the best Grasso could hope for would be to go the distance.
In the fourth round, though, that all changed. Shevchenko threw an ill-advised spinning backkick, and Grasso dodged and hopped onto her back in one slick move.
From there, the Mexican managed to drag 'The Bullet' down and sunk in a face crank that was so tight that Shevchenko's entire head appeared to turn purple.
Moments later, the champion tapped out, and one of the UFC's greatest upsets had taken place. Whether Grasso can repeat the feat in their trilogy bout this weekend remains to be seen, but either way, it feels unlikely that she'll replicate such a memorable finish.
#3. Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye - UFC 238
When it comes to decorated female UFC fighters, Valentina Shevchenko is probably second only to Amanda Nunes.
Not only has 'The Bullet' claimed a ridiculous number of wins in her eight-year octagon career, but during her reign as flyweight queen, she managed seven successful title defenses.
This, unsurprisingly, means she has a crazy list of violent finishes to her name, too. Of course, one of those finishes stands miles above the rest - her knockout of challenger Jessica Eye in her first title defense back in 2019.
After a first round that saw 'The Bullet' dominate Eye on the ground, it felt like only a matter of time before she found a path to victory.
Nobody could've seen how quick - and how brutal - that path would be, though. Just moments into the second round, seemingly from nowhere, Shevchenko uncorked a head kick that separated 'Evil' from her consciousness instantly.
The noise the strike made sounded like a gunshot, and Eye was left out cold for a lengthy period before finally coming around.
Essentially, this might've been the nastiest finish we'd ever seen from a female fighter in the octagon, and five years later, it remains a classic highlight reel finish.
#2. Merab Dvalishvili vs. Marlon Moraes - UFC 266
It's probably safe to say that Merab Dvalishvili is not known for his finishing skills. Despite being a truly brilliant fighter, he's more renowned for grinding his opponents out with his non-stop takedowns, pressure, and cardio.
However, his fight with Marlon Moraes in 2022 not only saw him display his incredible durability, but it showed that he does have finishing ability, too.
The first round saw 'The Machine' start in trademark fashion. He began to walk Moraes down, pressuring him back before landing an early takedown.
However, 'Magic' exploded to his feet, and when Dvalishvili continued to give him no respect, he made the Georgian pay.
Moraes dropped 'The Machine' with a left hand, and then looked to finish him, swarming with a salvo of punches that had Dvalishvili stumbling all over the cage. The Georgian went down again, but remarkably, he managed to survive - and eventually took Moraes down.
Once he was in top position, though, he didn't just look to recover. 'The Machine' began to smash 'Magic' with strikes, returning the favor with brutality of his own.
Dvalishvili didn't finish Moraes before the round ended, but he did finish the job in the second round. He took the Brazilian down again and battered him for nearly the entirety of the stanza until the referee mercifully stepped in.
Quite how 'The Machine' survived the first round was anyone's guess, but he did - and then he made Moraes pay like never before.
Dvalishvili would be best advised to avoid taking that kind of punishment from Sean O'Malley this weekend, but if he can dish a similar out, then he could win Noche UFC 306's headliner.
#1. Sean O'Malley vs. Eddie Wineland - UFC 250
Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley, who will defend his title against Merab Dvalishvili this weekend, is somewhat of an outlier at 135 pounds.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, 'Sugar' possesses insane, one-punch knockout power that is rare for a bantamweight.
Unsurprisingly, then, he has many highlight-reel knockouts on his ledger, and is shooting for his seventh this weekend, something that would allow him to equal the divisional record.
However, while the knockout of Aljamain Sterling that won him his title went viral across the world, O'Malley's best finish is probably his knockout of Eddie Wineland.
Their fight took place in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to Wineland's status as a former WEC champ, was O'Malley's toughest test to that point.
'Sugar' certainly didn't make it look that way, though. After using his range to snipe at Wineland from a distance in the early going, he faked an uppercut and switched to a laser-beam right hand, knocking the former WEC champion unconscious.
O'Malley didn't need to follow up as it was clear that Wineland was done, and instead channeled his inner Mark Hunt and walked away as Herb Dean waved the fight off.
It was a remarkably brutal knockout by bantamweight standards, and the message it sent to the rest of the division was clear - 'Sugar' was destined for the very top, and it would take something special to stop him.
