THE UFC breaks new ground in their home of Las Vegas on Saturday night with the highly-anticipated Noche UFC event set to explode into life at the Sphere.

In a night dedicated to the history of Mexican fighting, two title fights will be on the line as live sport is staged at the newly-minted $2.3 billion dollar venue for the first time.

The optics of how a live sporting event held inside a ball featuring a wraparound interior led screen has left both fight fans and even MMA media guessing.

But one thing we can be sure of is a couple of cracking championship fights at the top of the card.

When all the magic and bells and whistles are played out, the fights still have to deliver and the UFC have gone with a surefire trilogy in the women’s flyweight division and backed their newest PPV star-in-the-making to top the card.

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has the look, fighting style and personality to become a mainstream crossover athlete for the promotion.

Making the second defence of his 145lb crown, the 29-year-old faces surging #1 contender Merab Dvalishvili in a classic striker vs grappler match-up with two clear potential outcomes.

Either ‘Suga’ Sean will be far too slick, quick and accurate and pick off the reckless challenger in the opening exchanges, or Merab will do to the champ what he’s done to his last 10 opponents and maul him with relentless cardio.

In the co-main event, Mexico’s Alexa Grasso is aiming to put rivalry to rest once and for all with her trilogy fight against former champion Valentina Shevechnko.

Grasso, 31, shocked the sport in March last year when she used smart boxing and a destructive ground game to cause the upset and wrestle the 125lb belt away from its long-held custodian.

They rematched in September, yet despite a much more accomplished performance from Shevchenko, the judges failed to separate them and a rare split draw saw the belt remain in Mexico.

Shevchenko, who defended the title seven times before running into Grasso, rightly felt hard done by in the return, and is promising to not allow the officials to deny her return to the throne on Saturday night.

But Grasso is the highest ranked Mexican on the Noche card and will have significant support inside the arena to inspire her to victory.

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Given the opportunity, Dvalishvili, 33, is more than capable of rag-dolling any man, even the champion.

His impenetrable gas tank is his greatest asset and, if he can avoid the straight shots of the champion as he balls forward, he can keep his pressure maxed out for the full 25 minutes.

However, O’Malley is here for a reason. The UFC have specifically picked him to be the main man at this landmark event as they’re investing in a potential PPV superstar.

If he connects clean, and he usually does, Merab’s chin will be checked more than enough times to either see him flat on his back or saved by the referee.

Likewise, despite two impressive performances from Grasso against Valentina already, ‘The Bullet’ remains technically the finest fighter in female fight sports.

Lightening can’t strike three times and this time the judges won’t be needed as the 36-year-old proves age is just a number and reclaims her crown.

TIP: O’Malley & Shevchenko TKO double – 18/1

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