UFC 306 is an event celebrating Mexican Independence, and UFC CEO Dana White has referred to it as “a love letter to Mexico.” The entire branding of the event has been built around Mexican culture. Yet, despite its promotion, the card is not being headlined by a Mexican fighter.
This Saturday, the UFC hosts their 306th pay-per-view event at Sphere in Las Vegas, with a bantamweight championship bout betweenSean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili as its headliner.
Neither O’Malley, U.S.-born, nor Dvalishvili, a Georgia native, are Mexican. However, they were still placed over Alexa Grasso, who defends her women’s flyweight title in a trilogy bout against Valentina Shevchenko in the card’s co-main event. Grasso and Shevchenko headlined the inaugural Noche UFC event last September, which was a Fight Night event that took place at T-Mobile Arena.
While some were bothered by Grasso’s placement on UFC 306, the Guadalajara native was not.
“No, no, not at all,” Grasso told MMA Junkie in Spanish when asked if she had an issue not headlining Noche UFC. “That’s the last thing I care about. The card is incredible, like I told you.
“UFC doesn’t do things without reason. They know exactly what they’re doing, and they know where to place each fight. The truth is that, yeah, I don’t care about that. It’s going to be a great card.”
Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) stands today as the only Mexican UFC champion. She’s also the first-ever Mexican woman to win a UFC belt. For Grasso, seeing the UFC put on an event celebrating her culture is a thing to be proud of.
“It’s going to be very cool and beautiful,” Grasso said. “I went and saw the Sphere with all the Mexican graphics and everything. It’s a great promotion with everything they’re doing. Like you said, no other country has had this opportunity. This speaks on all the great work all the Mexican fighters are doing.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.
