3 things we learned from UFC 306 media day

10 of the UFC 306 fighters attended a pre-fight media day on Wednesday at the UFC APEX where they fielded questions from the media ahead of the historic card. UFC 306, also called Noche UFC, takes place from the Sphere in Las Vegas and is a celebration of Mexican Independence Day. Take a look at three of the highlights from that media day session and watch every interview on YouTube right here.

1. Sean O'Malley thinks he's 'close' to overtaking Conor McGregor's star status

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley is oftentimes compared to former UFC double champion Conor McGregor. But with McGregor sidelined and O'Malley getting the spotlight, it's becoming increasingly more obvious that O'Malley's star power is rising.

“I think I’m close (to his star power),” O’Malley said at the pre-fight media day on Wednesday. “Conor’s still got one more big fight in him because it’s a big question mark. Like, can Conor come back? Can he actually beat (Michael) Chandler? I think Conor has one more huge fight. If he goes out there and loses his next fight, it’ll be like six in a row or something. It’s got to die down eventually. Maybe not. That just tests how big of a star he is. But I’d assume he goes out there. If he loses, I’m there. I’m the guy. I’m the No. 1.”

2. Merab Dvalishvili reveals what Sean O'Malley said to make him want to 'smack his fac'

Merab Dvalishvili takes his home country of Georgia very seriously and took Sean O'Malley's disparaging comments about the Georgian people to heart. Though he says the fight between the two isn't personal, he did want to retaliate for the insult.

“It’s not personal,” Dvalishvili said during UFC 306 media day. “This is a professional fight. This is for a UFC belt. This is for legacy. Yes, I was mad about him a couple of times. I was very mad when he mentioned my country in a disrespectful way. Because my country, it’s more than religion for me. I have my country [in my heart], that’s why I start fighting. Because I want to represent my country.

He continued, “This is a healthy competition. That’s all we do. Then when somebody, it doesn’t matter who, disrespects your family or your country, you have to be mad. If you are a man, you have to be mad and I wanted to smack his face that time.”

3. Valentina Shevchenko is adamant that she won the rematch with Alexa Grasso

Valentina Shevchenko doesn't look at her rematch with Alexa Grasso as a loss, or even the draw that it ended up to be. She says she knows she won and she thinks the media and the public agree.

“I can’t say the last two times, it’s wrong to say that way,” Shevchenko said at UFC 306 media day. “Our second fight, everyone could see that I won the fight but they give a draw. A draw in this circumstances I’d say by itself. What should I do, what should I change? I don’t know. I really had to focus on to perform and prepare myself the best way what I can. I can say I had an amazing training camp. I push myself to all that’s impossible limits, and yeah, just ready for the action and it’s going to be amazing event and amazing fight.”