Ronaldo Rodriguez needed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat to get the job performed at UFC 306.
Opening the primary card at Sphere, Rodriguez’s dream of successful practically become a nightmare after Ode Osbourne dropped him with a punch after which locked on a triangle choke because the battle appeared all however over. By some means, Rodriguez survived after which got here storming again to inflict a ton of injury of his personal within the second spherical earlier than a late reversal and a few floor and pound within the third helped him earn the win.
Nothing got here simple throughout a wild back-and-forth struggle however Rodriguez obtained the nod with the judges scoring the battle 29-28, 29-27 and 29-27 for the 25-year-old fighter from Mexico.
“I’m a boy that got here from the streets of Veracruz,” Rodriguez shouted afterwards. “I’m right here residing my dream. I’m doing it right here.”
It was a celebration in the long run however Rodriguez virtually had an early evening after Osbourne blasted him with a punch within the opening spherical that dropped “Lazy Boy” to the canvas. Osbourne adopted him to the bottom the place he began unloading pictures till a scramble ended up with him locking on a nasty triangle choke.
With Rodriguez nonetheless dazed and confused, Osbourne appeared to have the submission secured. By some means, Rodriguez survived and broke free earlier than he tried to show the tables with some floor and pound from the highest place.
Regardless of being caught on the underside, Osbourne was nonetheless unloading some large elbows, slicing away at Rodriguez and making an attempt to do most injury.
The momentum modified dramatically going into the second spherical after a failed guillotine choke try from Osbourne backfired with Rodriguez escaping and reversing place. As soon as Rodriguez took benefit on the bottom, he hooked his legs for a physique triangle whereas taking Osbourne’s again as he started unloading a barrage of elbows.
Referee Chris Tognoni warned Osbourne that he needed to transfer or the battle may get stopped. So Osbourne reacted and practically reversed Rodriguez in a wild scramble because the flyweights saved battling for place.
With 5 minutes remaining, Osbourne was nonetheless in a position to present some quickness on the toes however he was clearly operating on fumes. Rodriguez got here again at him with large energy behind each shot as he saved searching for the knockout.
A late takedown try got here up quick for Osbourne with Rodriguez ending up on prime throwing punches to assist him win a intently contested third spherical.
With an opportunity to shine as a part of the pay-per-view broadcast, Rodriguez introduced his greatest and ended up along with his second win within the UFC and a memorable efficiency for the ages whereas shifting to 17-2 total in his profession.
