UFC 306 Preview And Predictions

UFC 306 Preview And Predictions

UFC 306 will be one of the most unique events in the promotion’s history. The card will take place at the Las Vegas Sphere with a theme centered around Mexican combat sports. The UFC is starting with a clean slate as it will be the first combat sports event to take place at the venue. UFC CEO has high hopes for the event and believes it will be the ‘greatest live combat sports show anybody has ever seen.’

UFC 306 is filled with Mexican fighters to help honor the country’s impact on combat sports. The ten-fight main card features seven fights with a Mexican-born fighter while two fights feature a Mexican-American. The sole outlier without a Mexican fighter is the UFC bantamweight championship bout atop the bill.

Join Vendetta Sports Media as we preview and predict the UFC 306 main card. You can find our prediction records below.

James: 96-71

Garrett: 98-69

Anthony: 100-67

Jerry: 81-69

Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode Osbourne- Flyweight Bout 

James: The UFC 306 main card opens with a flyweight bout between Ronaldo Rodriguez and Ode Osbourne. This fight is one of the weaker fights on UFC 306. That includes the prelims. Still, it has a chance to bring some entertainment to the octagon. Rodriguez only has one fight in the UFC, but he won that fight by submission. Osbourne is 4-5 in the UFC with seven of his nine fights ending inside the distance. 

Rodriguez is a fighter who is willing to trade hands in the pocket. This allows him to land big strikes, but it also results in him eating big strikes. Thankfully, he has a sensational chin and good cardio. Additionally, he has shown decent offensive grappling. 

Osbourne is an explosive striker. If he catches his opponent early, he can violently finish them. The issue is that he can gas out and struggle to make an offensive impact. Similarly, he can lose grappling exchanges in those moments. 

The preview for the UFC 306 main card opener favors Rodriguez. This is largely because of his chin and cardio. I expect him to survive the early danger and eventually land takedowns. I will take Rodriguez by third-round submission.

Garrett: Rodriguez via decision

Jerry: Rodriguez via decision

Anthony: Rodriguez via decision

Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics- Lightweight Bout 

James: At UFC 306, Daniel Zellhuber will fight Esteban Ribovics. This matchup pits two interesting prospects against one another. Zellhuber is a 25-year-old with a 3-1 UFC record. Meanwhile, Ribovics is a 28-year-old with a 2-1 UFC record. The winner of this bout will be putting themself in a great position to climb the rankings. 

Zellhuber is a massive lightweight who stands at six-foot-one with a 77-inch reach. That allows him to effectively fight from the outside while landing jabs and kicks. In the kicking game, Zellhuber throws a variety of shots to all three levels. In the grappling realm, his length helps him threaten and land front chokes. 

Ribovics is a striker who pressures his opponents and throws big strikes for three rounds. In the pocket, he rips long combinations to the head and body. This eventually wears on his opponents because he never lets his foot off the gas. If anything, he picks up the pressure when he can tell his opponent is hurt. 

This UFC 306 bout previews as a quality fight. I would not be surprised if this is one of the best fights on the card. Ribovics will get in Zellhuber’s face and make this a scrap. Zellhuber will have to establish his jab if he wants to keep Ribovics out of the pocket. That said, I expect Ribovics to use his cardio and relentlessness to continuously get inside and land big strikes. I will take Ribovics by decision. 

Garrett: Zellhuber via TKO

Jerry: Ribovics via KO/TKO

Anthony: Zellhuber via decision

No. 3 Brian Ortega vs. No. 13 Diego Lopes- Featherweight Bout 

James: UFC 306 features a sensational fight between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes. This is a fascinating matchup between two exciting featherweights. Ortega has had a great run in the featherweight division with an 8-3 UFC record. The three losses came against Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Yair Rodriguez. At UFC Mexico City, he avenged his loss against Rodriguez. Lopes entered the UFC with a short-notice debut against Mosvar Evloev. That was a close bout, but he was on the wrong side of the scorecards. After, he ripped off, three consecutive first-round finishes before winning a decision over Dan Ige.

Ortega is an outstanding BJJ practitioner with legitimate submission skills from the top or bottom position. This includes an insane guillotine and triangle choke. In his last outing, he showed a dangerous arm triangle as well. On the feet, he has a good jab and a solid uppercut. In his career, he has shown a ton of offensive striking progression, but his defensive flaws remain present. Additionally, his takedowns are not elite. This stops him from utilizing his submission skills. 

Lopes is a dangerous fighter who hunts for finishes. On the ground, he constantly threatens submissions from his back. This is done with a variety of attacks. More importantly, he can chain submissions to set them up. In striking exchanges, he has a ton of power. This can be seen with his straight. This skill set gives him a dangerous clinch game because he can strike with knees and uppercuts or attack takedowns and submissions. 

This UFC 306 bout is a challenge to preview. This fight could go in a variety of directions. That is largely because Ortega and Lopes are each great grapplers willing to use their striking. Plus, it is a legitimate possibility that either fighter lands a takedown. That creates several variations to how this fight could play out. 

In my eyes, this bout comes down to finishing upside against the potential to win a decision. Lopes is a fighter with serious power in his hands and wild submissions. This gives him chances to finish the fight. Ortega has some finish upside; however, it is not as potent as it is for Lopes. The bigger difference is that Ortega is more likely to win a decision because of his striking volume and top control time. I trust Ortega’s durability and expect him to survive the dangerous moments to rally and get the win. I will take Ortega by decision. 

Garrett: Ortega via decision

Jerry: Ortega vis decision

Anthony: Lopes via decision

(C) Alexa Grasso vs. No. 1 Valentina Shevchenko- Women’s Flyweight Title Fight 

James: The UFC 306 co-main event is a women’s flyweight bout between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko. The bout is the third fight between the pair. In their first matchup, Grasso landed a rear-naked choke to take the belt from Shevchneko. In the rematch, the pair had a razor-close decision that was ruled a draw. Now, the pair fight to settle their rivalry at UFC 306. That is great news for Grasso. The crowd should favor the champion as she is currently the only Mexican champion in the UFC. 

In the two iterations of this bout, we have seen the pair have close striking exchanges. Grasso is a strong boxer and has success in elongated exchanges. On the flip side, Shevchenko can use her accuracy to land when they trade strikes from the outside. On top of that, the former champion has also won rounds with takedowns and top control. Still, Grasso has been the fighter with bigger moments. On the feet, she has landed bigger punches. Furthermore, she has had serious moments of grappling success. 

Ultimately, my UFC 306 co-main event preview favors Grasso. This is mostly because she is the fighter trending in the proper direction. We saw Grasso make improvements and win more minutes in the rematch. That is on top of her finishing ability. I expect Grasso to continue growing considering she is 31 while Shevchenko is 36. In this fight, I expect her to continue having success with her hands while showing better defensive grappling. I will take Grasso by decision.  

Garrett: Shevchenko via submission

Jerry: Grasso via decision

Anthony: Grasso KO/TKO

(C) Sean O’Malley vs. No. 1 Merab Dvalishvili- Bantamweight Title Fight 

James: The UFC 306 main event features a bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. O’Malley has become one of the biggest stars in MMA. That stardom had a chance to grow as he looks to defend the bantamweight title for the second time. His popularity will take another step forward if he performs while headlining the Las Vegas Sphere. Although, Dvalishvili will not be an easy matchup.  The Georgian is riding a ten-fight win streak with three wins over former world champions. It cannot be disputed that he deserves to fight for the championship. 

O’Malley is a top-tier striker with great range management and movement skills. This works well because of his length. O’Malley is five-foot-11 with a 72-inch reach. That gives him a serious advantage over the majority of bantamweights. This allows him to sit on the outside and pick at his opponent. Usually, this is accomplished with his jab and teep kick. Once he begins to that those weapons, he will add punches behind his jab while throwing a wide array of kicks. Additionally, O’Malley is great at punishing openings with his counterstriking.  

Dvalishvili is a machine. In recent outings, he used his ridiculous cardio to fight at a hellacious pace. Dvalishvili will get in his opponent’s face and throw a ton of strikes while also attempting an absurd amount of takedowns. In a five-round fight, he has the potential to push a pace like no other. The sheer amount of volume is overwhelming. That said, he can often be reckless which leaves him open to be countered and limits his ability to control opponents for long periods. 

The UFC 306 main event is one of the toughest fights to preview this year. That is because both fighters have clear paths to victory. On the O’Malley side, he is capable of landing a knockout shot while Dvalishvili attempts to close the distance. In addition, O’Malley will be the fighter that wins minutes if Dvalishvili takes a more cautious approach to the fight. At the same time, Dvalishvili’s pace will quickly affect O’Malley if the champion fails to land an early knockout. The longer this fight goes, the easier it will become for Dvalishili to safely land takedowns. 

If I am forced to be a pick side in this fight, I lean toward Dvalishili. For better or worse, I expect him to be aggressive and bring the fight to O’Malley. That will give O’Malley a chance to knock him out cold, but it also increases the chance that Dvalishili will pull ahead in the later rounds. I want to make it very clear that this is a close fight to preview. I could easily see both fighters winning dominantly. That said, I prefer to side with the fighter with clear edges in cardio and grappling. I will take Dvalishvili by round-five submission. 

Garrett: O’Malley via TKO

Jerry: Dvalishvili via decision

Anthony: O’Malley KO/TKO

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