UFC 306 title fight referees, judges announced for Sphere event
The officials who will oversee the UFC 306 title fights were revealed Thursday during a monthly Nevada Athletic Commission meeting.
The Sept. 14 main event between bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili at Sphere in Las Vegas will be officiated by Herb Dean, with the three judges set to be Mike Bell, Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee.
Mark Smith was selected as the referee for the co-main event between women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko. Ben Cartlidge, Eric Colon and Ron McCarthy will be the three judges.
Each referee will be paid $5,000, and judges will receive $4,000 each.
The officials for UFC 306’s non-title bouts won’t be revealed until fight night.
UFC 306 serves as Noche UFC, the promotion’s second annual Mexican Independence Day tribute. It will go head-to-head with the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga boxing pay-per-view, which takes place a short distance away at T-Mobile Arena. The officials for that boxing match were also determined Thursday.
Below is the complete UFC 306 fight card:
- Champ Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili – for bantamweight title
- Champ Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko – for women’s flyweight title
- Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega
- Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aori Qileng
- Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont
- Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
- Kevin Borjas vs. Edgar Chairez
- Ode Osbourne vs. Ronaldo Rodriguez
- Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
- Esteban Ribovics vs. Daniel Zellhuber
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.