UFC CEO Dana White touted Noche UFC at Sphere as "the greatest sporting event of all time." By the end of the night, the $20 million-plus spectacle that served as a love letter to Mexico was absolutely stunning. But that's the production that can be controlled. The fights are another story altogether.
With two championship fights at the top of the bill featuring the fastest-rising star in the UFC (Sean O'Malley) and a surefire Hall of Famer (Valentina Shevchenko), and a fight card spotlighting Mexican talent ranging from 19-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. to emerging star Diego Lopez, did Noche UFC deliver on White's promise?
After each pay-per-view, we break down and assess the quality of each fight and the fight card as a whole based on skill displayed, competitiveness and what is at stake. We also give a grade to the card and venue on his one-of-a-kind night.
Lightweight: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics
Result: Ribovics defeated Zellhuber by split decision
Grade: A
Go watch this fight. Right now. Zellhuber and Ribovics offered two rounds of high-level striking and then decided to take the chess board and smash each other over the head with it in the final round. In an entertaining sequence, Zellhuber dropped Ribovics and saw the determined Argentinian get up and deliver a right hand that wrecked Zellhuber's equilibrium. Zellhuber's legs were turned to spaghetti, but he had the wherewithal to use upper body movement to avoid a barrage of punches from Ribovics. Once steady, Zellhuber roared back in the final minute, bringing everyone in Sphere to their feet. Ribovics won on the strength of a frantic final round, but everyone will want to see what these two do next in their careers.
Men's flyweight: Ronaldo Rodríguez vs. Ode' Osbourne
Result: Rodríguez defeated Osbourne by unanimous decision
Grade: B
If you look up the definition of "resilient," you'll find an image of Rodriguez smiling back at you. This was a fun fight that nearly ended minutes after it started. Osbourne appeared to put "Lazy Boy" to sleep with a right hand early in the first round but made the mistake of waking him back up with ground and pound. Still, it looked as if Rodríguez was cooked as Osbourne poured on the ground and pound and cinched in a tight guillotine. Rodríguez persevered, though, and dominated Round 2 with takedowns and an impressive display of top control. And he pressed the action in the final frame to snatch what felt like a sure win for Osbourne. It was a remarkable victory for a man who was on the edge of having the fight stopped at the start.
Featherweight: Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes
Result: Lopes defeated Ortega by unanimous decision
Grade: B
Welcome to the Diego Lopes coming-out party. Lopes was considered a fighter on the rise, but his manhandling of a former two-time title contender puts him on the short list of championship contenders. As for the fight itself, it was one-way traffic from the moment Lopes sat Ortega down with a right hand in the opening minute. The statement was punctuated when the Brazilian clobbered "T-City" in the closing minute as well. Ortega was tough, but he had no answers for Lopes' explosive offense. This performance was an exceptional one from the Brazilian who calls Mexico home. But it wasn't particularly competitive, a testament to Lopes' ability.
Lightweight: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
Result: Bahamondes defeated Torres by first-round TKO
Grade: B-
Bahamondes knew that Torres was going to push the action and he turned that aggression against Torres, courtesy of two perfectly timed right hands to earn a first-round stoppage. The first right hand that dropped Torres would have ended the night for most fighters, but Torres collected himself and pressed on. However, Torres pressed too hard and found himself on the wrong end of a second right hand that sat him down again. He wouldn't get up this time, and Bahamondes finished the job with an impressive and poised performance.
Strawweight: Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
Result : Souza defeated Jauregui by first-round submission
Grade: B-
With only one submission in her MMA career, Souza wasn't expected to submit Jauregui, who had lost only once previously by knockout. But Souza stunned the Mexican with the unlikely finish. A Souza left hook sent Jauregui to the canvas midway through Round 1. The Brazilian chased Jauregui to the mat and quickly snatched up a rear-naked choke for the win. An impressive performance by the former Invicta FC flyweight champion.
Men's bantamweight title fight: Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Result: Dvalishvili defeated O'Malley by unanimous decision
Grade: C
No one thought Dvalishvili would do anything different than what he did. He outhustled, outmuscled and outsmarted O'Malley to rip away the bantamweight crown. The path to victory was obvious, and O'Malley had no response to what was coming.
O'Malley tried to jab to the body and control the range, but Dvalishvili's constant movement was overwhelming. Was it exciting? Not really. And the drama was sucked out of Sphere with takedown after takedown. Dvalishvili never really threatened to finish O'Malley, but the former champion didn't muster anything significant until a front kick to the Georgian's midsection seemingly caused some damage with a minute left in the fight. Unfortunately, a majority of the fans had left Sphere by that point.
It was a smothering performance by Dvalishvili to claim the title, but it lacked the excitement the fans yearned for out of a championship fight.
Men's flyweight: Édgar Cháirez vs. Joshua Van
Result: Van defeated Cháirez by unanimous decision
Grade: C+
A spectacular second round was sandwiched between solid, yet unspectacular, first and third rounds. A lot of credit goes to Van; the 22-year-old took the fight on short notice and pushed through for 15 minutes against a durable opponent. The second round was memorable as Van rumbled to a finish, pelting Cháirez with strikes to the body that nearly folded the Mexican in half. But a desperation spinning back fist from Cháirez landed squarely on Van's chin and swung the momentum back in his favor. But Van endured and won the fight on the feet and ground to pick up the win.
Women's flyweight title fight: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Result: Shevchenko defeated Grasso by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
Shevchenko was like a veteran basketball player, using a mean post game to back down the younger opponent and score at will. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective to take back the title that she felt was rightfully hers. Nobody will look to watch this fight again, and Shevchenko wasn't interested in wowing the fans with her performance. It was simple and left Grasso in a pool of frustration throughout five rounds. Shevchenko did everything right and Grasso had no answers for her. Unfortunately, it wasn't a memorable fight.
Women's bantamweight: Norma Dumont vs. Irene Aldana
Result: Dumont defeated Aldana by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
Outside of a nasty vertical cut on Aldana's forehead -- it stretched from her hairline to her eyelid -- there wasn't much excitement in this one. Dumont outpointed Aldana with her striking, especially with a stiff jab, and eventually opened a frightening cut, amplified by the massive screen in Sphere. Aldana is tough as nails but couldn't produce a performance reminiscent of her barnburner with Karol Rosa in December. Dumont won against a formidable former title challenger, but that's all there is to say about it.
Men's bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng
Result: Rosas defeated Aoriqileng by unanimous decision
Grade: D
Rosas gave a professional effort to secure the unanimous decision. Rosas offered nothing flashy, just a few takedowns and controlled his opponent when the fight hit the mat. This fight was nothing to write home about, outside of a brief firefight in the middle of Round 2. Fans forgave the lack of action after being in awe of the visual spectacle inside Sphere. The 19-year-old picked up another win, but fans won't remember this fight.
UFC 306 fight card grade: B-
Noche UFC was on a roll until the main and co-main events sucked the life out of the building with their lack of excitement. Before that, we were gifted with a fight of the year candidate (Ribovics-Zellhuber), a stunning comeback win (Rodríguez-Osbourne) and an emerging star with a breakout performance (Lopes). Unfortunately, the two fights everyone waited for failed to deliver fireworks. You can't win them all.
Sphere grade: A+
White said it would be the greatest sporting event of all time. Was it? Not if you count the fights. But in terms of production? It was a grand slam. The production was remarkable, and anybody who was in Sphere witnessed something incredible.
From the six-chapter, 90-second short films to the stunning walkouts, this was one of the most-well-produced and unique sporting events of all time. The main and co-main events may not have lived up to the hype, but as White said, "You can put up $20 million worth of production, but you can't control the fights. They are what they are." Everything else was perfect.