UFC 306 results: Ronaldo Rodriguez survives early scare to win back-and-forth war with Ode Osbourne

Ronaldo Rodriguez had to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat to get the job done at UFC 306.

Opening the main card at Sphere, Rodriguez’s dream of winning nearly turned into a nightmare after Ode Osbourne dropped him with a punch and then locked on a triangle choke as the fight appeared all but over. Somehow, Rodriguez survived and then came storming back to inflict a ton of damage of his own in the second round before a late reversal and some ground and pound in the third helped him earn the win.

Nothing came easy during a wild back-and-forth war but Rodriguez got the nod with the judges scoring the fight 29-28, 29-27 and 29-27 for the 25-year-old fighter from Mexico.

“I am a boy that came from the streets of Veracruz,” Rodriguez shouted afterwards. “I’m here living my dream. I’m doing it here.”

It was a celebration in the end but Rodriguez almost had an early night after Osbourne blasted him with a punch in the opening round that dropped “Lazy Boy” to the canvas. Osbourne followed him to the ground where he started unloading shots until a scramble ended up with him locking on a nasty triangle choke.

With Rodriguez still dazed and confused, Osbourne appeared to have the submission secured. Somehow, Rodriguez survived and broke free before he tried to turn the tables with some ground and pound from the top position.

Despite being stuck on the bottom, Osbourne was still unloading some huge elbows, slicing away at Rodriguez and trying to do maximum damage.

The momentum changed dramatically going into the second round after a failed guillotine choke attempt from Osbourne backfired with Rodriguez escaping and reversing position. Once Rodriguez took advantage on the ground, he hooked his legs for a body triangle while taking Osbourne’s back as he began unloading a barrage of elbows.

Referee Chris Tognoni warned Osbourne that he had to move or the fight might get stopped. So Osbourne reacted and nearly reversed Rodriguez in a wild scramble as the flyweights kept battling for position.

With five minutes remaining, Osbourne was still able to show some quickness on the feet but he was clearly running on fumes. Rodriguez came back at him with huge power behind every shot as he kept looking for the knockout.

A late takedown attempt came up short for Osbourne with Rodriguez ending up on top throwing punches to help him win a closely contested third round.

With a chance to shine as part of the pay-per-view broadcast, Rodriguez brought his best and ended up with his second win in the UFC and a memorable performance for the ages while moving to 17-2 overall in his career.