Two rising stars in the UFC’s lightweight division faced off early in their respective careers at UFC 306 at The Sphere on Saturday, with Daniel Zellhuber facing Esteban Ribovics.
Both men had expressed some surprise at encountering each other so early on, but it certainly promised to be an entertaining fight on a night that was brimming with just that — entertainment, thanks to some stellar video packages prepared for the UFC’s debut at The Sphere.
Ribovics pressed the action early, with Zellhuber working his counters, both men active in the opening minute. Ribovics capped his combinations with kicks, mixing up his attacks. Zellhuber ripped the body a couple of times, and fired a knee in that direction as well. There was near continuous, back-and-forth action throughout the opening round, and while neither fighter did any serious damage, both had their moments.
Round two started with more back-and-forth technical striking, Zellhuber circling, Ribovics coming in on the attack. Perhaps the least surprising element of the fight was how evenly matched the two young talents were, trading shot for shot, kick for kick. Ribovics would land a crisp right hand with about 90 seconds left, then a 1-2 moments later. His kicks continued to land, more often than not, following his combinations, targeting Zellhuber’s legs.
Early in round three Zellhuber dropped his opponent with a right elbow. Ribovics returned to his feet, only to endure an eye poke which gave him a very brief moment to recover. He might have been wise to take more time, but moments later it was Ribovics rocking Zellhuber, which he followed by unloading with lefts and rights! Zellhuber tried to roll with the punches, then literally ran in retreat, but Ribovics chased him down, unloading more, with Zellhuber ducking, rolling, and somehow staying alive. The pair went into rock ’em, sock ’em mode, a wild brawl after two rounds of technical striking. Zellhuber then connected clean, and Ribobvics came back with two of his own upstairs, both punches connecting. Zellhuber looked for a jump knee and a kick late in the round before one last brawl took them to the final horn!
The judges were split, with Esteban Ribovics taking the win on two scorecards in the end. Following a wild flyweight fight between Ronaldo Rodriguez and Ode Osbourne, the UFC 306 main card was off to a solid start.
Official Result: Esteban Ribovics def. Daniel Zellhuber by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
