Noche UFC at Sphere was a beautiful spectacle, as promised, and the action inside the Octagon on the pay-per-view main card measured up as well.
The five-fight extravaganza featured an impressive comeback, an all-out fire fight, and a dominant effort from one of the most exciting ascending talents in the sport. And then the action shifted to the championship battles, where the first trilogy fight on the women’s side of the sport was contested to settle things in the flyweight division before a bantamweight title grudge match closed out the show.
In both instances, new champions were crowned.
This was an incredible night inside Sphere and inside the Octagon, and we’ve got the details on how everything played out below.
Official Scorecards | Prelim Results
Ronaldo Rodriguez was on the brink of being finished, perhaps twice, in the opening round, but “Lazy Boy” survived and rallied, opening the Noche UFC pay-per-view main card with a win for Mexico.
Osbourne dropped Rodriguez with a counter right hook in the center of the Octagon early in the first, chasing him to the canvas and eventually locking down a deep triangle choke off his back. Somehow, Rodriguez was able to escape, both the hold and the round, rallying with a strong effort of his own in the second before the close action in the third ended with Rodriguez in top position, attacking with punches and elbows.
When the scores were added up and the verdict was read aloud, it was Rodriguez that came out ahead, earning a clean sweep of the scorecards to collect his second UFC victory. The 25-year-old has quickly established himself as a highly entertaining addition to the flyweight division, and should continue to be fun to watch going forward.
Daniel Zellhuber and Esteban Ribovics locked horns in an outstanding back-and-forth kickboxing battle in the second main card bout of the evening, ramping up the output and intensity with each successive round.
Through the first two rounds, the ascending lightweights effectively ran level, with Zellhuber landing with superior variety, but Ribovics having success of his own while staying more basic with his attacks. Business picked up in the third, with Zellhuber stinging Ribovics early in the round and the Argentine responding by hurting his Mexican adversary badly, before Zellhuber managed to steady himself, with the two slugging it out right through to the final horn.
This was an absolute barnburner and ultra-close as well, leaving everyone wondering how the judges would score the contest. All three judges had the fight 29-28, with Ribovics coming out on the happy side of the split decision verdict.
Just an absolutely thrilling battle between two surging talents and Dana White’s Contender Series grads. | Official Scorecards | Prelim Results
Diego Lopes continues to march forward in the featherweight division. The streaking Brazilian scored the biggest win of his career in the middle bout of Saturday’s historic UFC 306 pay-per-view, out-working Brian Ortega from start-to-finish to earn a clean sweep of the judges scorecards.
Lopes hurt Ortega in the opening round, wobbling him with heavy punches and chasing him to the canvas in search of a finish. Ortega survived, but in the second, Lopes shifted his focus to attacking the legs, cutting down the two-time title challenger’s lead wheel. The Puebla, Mexico-based rising star was the more effective of the two in the third as well, continuing to chip away and tag Ortega throughout, dropping him in the waning seconds just to further punctuate his performance.
This was an absolute statement-making effort from Lopes, who has been an absolute revelation since turning up on short-notice last year at UFC 288 in Newark, New Jersey. He’s won five straight now and will climb into the Top 5 when the rankings update next week, bringing him one step closer to challenging for championship gold.
Valentina Shevchenko is once again the UFC women’s flyweight champion.
“Bullet” dominated just about every moment of the fight on the canvas, timing her level-changes perfectly to put Alexa Grasso on her back and keeping her there for extended periods. While the champion chased submission attempts each time, she was only truly close once, when she clamped onto a guillotine choke in the fourth. Otherwise, Shevchenko was measured, patient, and fully in charge, showcasing her class and the depth of her game in what was her 11th consecutive UFC title fight.
After coming away from their last meeting frustrated by the result, Shevchenko was finally able to secure a convincing victory and reclaim her spot on the throne. The 36-year-old became the first two-time women’s flyweight champion, the fifth two-time champion on the female side of the sport, and the 14th competitor to have multiple championship reigns in the same division in UFC history.
Merab Dvalishvili is the new UFC bantamweight champion. “The Machine” deployed his trademark high-pace, wrestling-heavy approach to neutralize and nullify the offensive weapons of Sean O’Malley, hustling his way to a unanimous decision win.
The Georgian challenger showed a great focus in keeping the action on the canvas whenever he was able to get O’Malley to the ground, settling into top position and grinding from there more than he had throughout his 10-fight march to this fight. The champion landed very little overall and even less of real substance, a far cry from his recent showings, as the threat of the takedown and Dvalishvili’s suffocating top game kept O’Malley off balance.
This was an outstanding tactical performance for the challenger to dethrone the technicolor champion, who continued to stick to what works and fight within himself to reach his ultimate goal. Make it 11 straight for the new champion, who became the second member of the Serra-Longo team to win the bantamweight title.
UFC 306: O'Malley vs Dvalishvili took place live from Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 14, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
