UFC 306 and its stars are enjoying the spotlight with just a little over a week left for the event. Today’s roundup will feature both of the Noche UFC headliners – Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. While the former has a bone to pick with Conor McGregor, the latter seems bent on killing Dana White’s sleep.

Lastly, we will stop our journey with some noise from the welterweight division. Undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov and undisputed champion Belal Muhammad are still going back and forth. So without any further ado let’s get started.

Merab Dvalishvili might have put the entire UFC 306 in danger

A massive $20 million has been invested by the organization to ensure that UFC Sphere will be one of the most entertaining combat sports events of the year. Despite the production team’s best efforts to get everything right, it is ultimately the fighters who must showcase their fighting prowess to ensure the event is truly captivating for everyone. However, it appears that the headlining event: The fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili is in a bit of trouble.

Is it because of Merab Dvalishvili’s cut above the eye? Well, it is not about an injury but rather an infection. A new photo of the 135 lbs challenger has been floating on social media and a closer inspection of the photo showcases a skin abrasion on his left arm. Some fans fear the abrasion could be a staph infection.

We are just 11 days away from the fight and a sudden change of plans would tremendously hamper Dana White’s $20 million event. In addition to that, there’s no backup fighter to the headlining event as well. So if Dvalishvili cannot compete, then the main event could fall through.

Meanwhile, his opponent Sean O’Malley’s focus is somewhere else. The bantamweight champ recently sounded off on Conor McGregor again. Here’s why.

Sean O’Malley accuses Conor McGregor of not competing clean

Conor McGregor has a spotless drug-testing record in the UFC – both under USADA and the DFSI. In fact, he’s the most tested athlete in the UFC under the new regime. Back in 2021, he even went ballistic on Jeff Novitzky for not giving him the 50 clean tests jacket, even though he had more than 50 clean tests. But Sean O’Malley is not convinced the case is the same now.

The former dual weight champion of the world entered into a tiff with Sean O’Malley, after the entire Ryan Garcia drug test fiasco. After McGregor accused O’Malley of taking Ostarine in the past, their relationship has been nothing but hampered.

In his latest conversation with Kevin Lole, O’Malley accused Conor McGregor of using steroids to get big. While having a conversation about his back-and-forth with Conor McGregor, ‘Suga’ said, “If he could actually have a little bit of discipline and get his weight under control we can meet at 155. But he’s on steroids, he’s way too big, he’s huge right now so it’s just not realistic.”

The accusations are a bit grave considering the fact that Conor Mcgregor is trying his best to make a comeback to the promotion. Their back-and-forth appears to be hindering their relationship further.  Their fight, however, is highly unlikely to happen. So let’s move on to a back-and-forth that will most likely end in a sanctioned UFC bout.

Shavkat Rakhmonov sends a brutal reminder to Belal Muhammad

“I know how to break him(Shavkat Rakhmonov)… I want to make him uncomfortable, and then he’s going to realize that there’s levels to this, and I think he’s going to end up being a finish,” said Belal Muhammad in his conversation with ‘Submission Radio.’ ‘Remember The Name’ and undefeated Shavkat ‘Nomad’ Rakhmonov continue to have a war of words against each other. Muhammad promised to give Rakhmonov a chance at the welterweight championship but soon after changed his stance as he stated that Kamaru Usman and Rakhmonov should fight in order to decide who would take the title shot.

The back-and-forth has forced Rakhmonov, who usually stays silent when it comes to fight by words to call out Muhammad for his decision victories. The undefeated Kazakh warrior took to his X handle to add a statement against the 170 lbs champ. “A decision machine with zero knockdowns — our division deserves a better champion,” wrote Rakhmonov.

In comparison to Belal Muhammad, Shavkat Rakhmonov has finished every opponent in his MMA career. Will the promotion schedule a fight between the welterweight stars? State your thoughts in the comments below.