The 10-fight program at UFC 306 in Las Vegas, Nevada, was headlined by Sphere – the dynamic venue that hosted its first live sporting competition on Saturday. The program featured two title fights, with Merab Dvalishvili and Valentina Shevchenko emerging victorious. Outside of the title fights, other stars like Diego Lopes and Esteban Ribovics also put on great performances. To make sense of it all, Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim offer their final thoughts on a historic night.

The Machine changes algorithm against “Suga” Sean

Carriage home: Dvalishvili did what Dvalishvili does. And, just as importantly, he didn’t let Sean O’Malley do what he does.

That’s how a classic striker vs. grappler fight should be decided, right?

In dominating the main event of UFC 306 and taking the bantamweight title from Sean “Suga,” Dvalishvili managed six takedowns, which is below average for him. He is the UFC’s active takedown leader with 86 takedowns in his 13 Octagon appearances and has had four fights in which he reached double figures. But don’t be fooled: His takedown skills are what made him a champion.

O’Malley fought off nine takedown attempts and had to focus on staying in position to fend off Dvalishvili’s attack. This kept O’Malley on the defensive the entire time, allowing only brief flashes of the dangerous strikes that had gotten him where he was. Even when Dvalishvili’s takedown attempts were thwarted, he remained in control of the fight.

As a result, the wrestler was even stronger than the striker. Dvalishvili threw 310 punches, more than three times O’Malley’s offensive output (91), and landed 214 strikes while he landed only 49. Although many of the challenger’s punches and kicks only touched O’Malley and did little damage, the champion was busy defending himself and looking in vain for opportunities to land his attacks.

Dvalishvili transformed himself from a one-dimensional fighter by being so relentless about the takedown aspect of his game that his opponent couldn’t take advantage of his weaknesses in stand-up. Will the new champion be able to do that early in his reign, especially if he faces a more versatile challenger? We’ll find out.

‘Bullet’ dethrones Grasso with simple mediocrity

Healthy: Shevchenko figured out how to beat Alexa Grasso, and to do so she had to keep her fight strategy as simple as possible. She played to her strengths by taking Grasso down in all five rounds – eight takedowns in total – and maintaining control for over 16 minutes. It wasn’t particularly entertaining, but it served its purpose, and Shevchenko ended her 18-month nightmare of not having the title in her possession.

At 36, Shevchenko is fighting against the zeitgeist just as much as her opponents, but she may have forgotten that she can neutralize her opponents by relying on her exceptional grappling technique. Perhaps the days of spectacular knockouts and full-throttle brawls are a thing of the past for Shevchenko, but Grasso didn’t know how to decipher her strategy. Does that say more about Shevchenko’s overall skills or about Grasso’s inability to adapt?

Will the UFC rush to set up a fourth fight between Grasso and Shevchenko? Probably not. At least not now. Especially given the dominant performance Shevchenko put on at Noche UFC. As was the case with Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno before them, both will almost certainly face at least one more opponent before they meet again.

There are some worthy contenders lining up to challenge for the title. Manon Fiorot is likely next, and the winner of November’s Erin Blanchfield-Rose Namajunas clash is already waiting in the wings. Maycee Barber is also climbing the rankings. Grasso may have to face one of these four opponents before she can try to regain her title.

Shevchenko, for her part, will be looking to improve her track record of title defenses and reclaim her place on the Mount Rushmore of women’s MMA. It’s just that we’ll be seeing a more measured and tactical version of Shevchenko at this stage of her career. Make no mistake, Shevchenko’s win over Grasso may not have blown you away, but we’re still witnessing greatness.

The experience at Sphere was…

Okamoto: An absolute, undeniable home run that was perfected down to the smallest detail. It’s one of the best things the UFC has done in its nearly 31-year history.

Sphere itself is just so incredible versatile. Its capabilities are unlike any other venue I’ve ever been to. UFC CEO Dana White has always disliked stadium shows because he prioritizes the fan experience and fears that stadium shows take away from the on-site experience. And he’s not wrong. Sphere is designed for an on-site experience. It’s built in such a way that it’s impossible to not have a good experience in the stadium no matter what you watch or where you sit because the screen alone is overwhelming. The UFC has recognized this and seems to have taken full advantage of it.

Every time the appeal of the screen size wore off even a little, the entire environment would change—flower petals would fall from the sky, or a giant Mexican flag would take up the entire projection. It was a perfect balance of realism and a “video game” feel. The acoustics of the show were better than any other UFC event I’ve ever been to. The UFC is in the combat sports business, so you expect exaggeration from someone like White—but he promised an event unlike any other. As we left the arena on Saturday night, the general consensus was that he delivered just that. There’s nothing like it, because Noche UFC was so unique.

The experience of watching Sphere at home was…

Carriage home: I guess you had to be there. Sure, there were moments of amazing imagery on the telecast throughout the evening, especially when the main fight scene started. But those otherworldly moments were in between fights when fans are usually impatient and can’t wait to get going and move on to the next fight.

As the evening progressed, the visuals jolted the mind, but none more so than the rock concerts that took place at the Sphere in its first year. And while visuals are an asset that fits well into a concert, during the fight scenes they were more of an experience in themselves. Once the fists started flying, the environment practically faded into the background.

And was it necessary to be so self-congratulatory? The early evening footage often resulted in the Noche UFC logo taking center stage. And the show began with everyone on camera raving about how this was going to be, in Dana White’s words, “the greatest sporting event anyone has ever seen.” Exaggerated?

The television experience was by no means a disappointment. But we didn’t get to see anything as memorable as the people who paid big bucks to be there in person. The UFC has always convinced us that the fights are the show. And despite $20 million in production bells and whistles, that promise was kept on this innovative night.