Esteban Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber brought the Sphere to life with their memorable clash at UFC 306 on Saturday night.
As a result, the lightweights received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece. Ribovics and Zellhuber traded willingly throughout the contest, culminating in a wild final frame that saw both men hurt at different points in the stanza. Ultimately, Ribovics was able to pour it on down the stretch to emerge with a split-decision triumph in a fight that will end up on plenty of year-end awards lists when all is said and done.
Elsewhere, Ignacio Bahamondes garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round stoppage of Manuel Torres in a preliminary lightweight affair. Bahamondes was able to floor his foe with clean counters on two separate occasions, the second of which set the stage for a technical knockout victory at the 4:06 mark of Round 1.
Finally, Ketlen Souza captured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check with a quick finish of Yazmin Jauregui in a preliminary strawweight encounter. The Brazilian dropped her foe with a left hand before transitioning to a rear-naked choke to elicit a tapout 3:02 into the opening stanza.
