Kicking off the UFC Vegas 18 card on Saturday was the first of three featherweight fights. That saw Ode Osbourne lined up against Jerome Rivera, the latter one of a number of short-notice replacement fighters to adorn the Fight Night card.
Both men were in search of their first UFC win at the event. Osbourne was also moving to the featherweight division, after making his debut over a year prior at bantamweight.
It didn’t take long for one athlete to lock up their first victory inside the octagon. In an “if you blinked, you missed” it sort of finish, Ode Osbourne countered a Jerome Rivera kick with a perfectly placed left hand. Rivera’s high kick left him open. Osbourne, who had been submitted in his promotional debut, landed a perfectly placed left hand. Rivera went down, and follow-up strikes were barely necessary. Rivera was done, and Osbourne had lived up to his potential.
THE JAMAICAN SENSATION!
Welcome to the Octagon, @OdeOsbourne 🇯🇲
[ #UFCVegas18 – LIVE on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/VVEGvpueI6
— UFC (@ufc) February 6, 2021
“I dreamed about it for a whole year. I lost sleep over it. I cried walking out,” Osbourne said after the fact. It was all just a matter, he added, of trusting his instincts. With a quick finish and having taken no damage, Ode Osbourne will likely be set for a short turnaround moving forward.
Official Result: Ode Osbourne def. Jerome Rivera by knockout, Round 1, 0:26
