UFC 306 Live Blog: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics

This is the UFC 306 live blog for Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics, the lightweight main event this Saturday in Las Vegas.

When Zellhuber entered the UFC in 2022, he was undefeated but suffered an immediate setback, losing his debut to Trey Ogden. Since then, however, the 25-year-old Mexican fighter has been in top form, scoring victories over Lando Vannata, Christos Giagos and Francisco Prado.

Like Zellhuber, Ribovics came into the UFC as an undefeated prospect and lost his debut, losing to Loik Radzhabov. However, the 28-year-old Argentine has since rebounded, winning two straight fights, including a 37-second knockout of Terrance McKinney in May.

Zellhuber and Ribovics will now battle it out to see which highly touted young boxer will climb further up the highly competitive 155-pound rankings.

Check out the UFC 306 lightweight main event live blog below.

Before the fight:

Okay, we're keeping the train running and the topics shown are getting cooler and cooler. The big ritual framework is a journey.

Meanwhile, I just saw the backstage photo of Irene Aldana's cut and wish I hadn't seen it. Here comes Ribovics in the Octagon.

Round 1:

The outfits are getting crazier for the ring girls too. Alright, here we go. Ribovics charges forward and gets a hard kick to the body before Zellhuber hits an uppercut. He sneaks another one in as they close in. Zellhuber's attempted head kick is partially blocked. Ribovics slashes at the leg. Ribovics continues his good leg kicks.

Zellhuber lands a hard kick to the body as he tries to keep his distance. Palms open, he almost lands an eye poke. Nice boxing combination, two body shots and two more high for Zellhuber. Left hook just misses Zellhuber in an exchange of blows. Ribovics hits a double fake Superman punch from far away. Interesting.

Zellhuber lands a left hook and then a kick. Another nice combination of several punches tears Ribovics apart. Zellhuber's inside leg kick just before the horn.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Zellhuber.

Round 2:

The action starts quickly. Ribovics opens up the body and then lands a nice low kick. Zellhuber starts to set the pace before he gets pushed back again. Nice straight left from Zellhuber. Zellhuber tries to kick his way through Ribovics' guard. They trade hooks. High volume from these two.

Good push kick from Zellhuber before another high kick attempt. Ribovics hits Zellhuber with a right hand. Another outside leg kick from Ribovics lands. Ribovics lands two hard hooks to the body. Zellhuber's high kicks keep coming but are mostly blocked. Push kick from Zellhuber.

A straight left catches Ribovics' attention. Zellhuber's body kick is followed by a nice left. They exchange jabs. Ribovics pushes forward and ends a wave of attacks with a low kick. The low kicks add up. Powerful overhand right for Zellhuber. Open hand warning in Zellhuber's direction.

Later, both of them rush, but nothing gets through cleanly. Fast lap. Horn sounds. Very close.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Zellhuber.

Round 3:

The pace remains the same in the last round. Everyone lands several punches. Zellhuber's uppercut, Ribovic's elbow. Everyone lands overhands. Zellhuber swings a massive right and throws Ribovics to the ground. Ribovics gets up. The action is briefly interrupted by a thumb jab to the eye.

Ribovics punches his way out before getting hit again. A big right forces Zellhuber onto skates and he unleashes an endless combination of punches. This is insane!!! Zellhuber stops and just tries to move and survive. He's literally tripped over his own feet. Ribovics is out of breath from throwing so many punches. Zellhuber starts to fight back. You can't be serious.

Ribovics keeps trying to land punches, but Zellhuber is now fighting back. Knee to the body followed by a straight right for Zellhuber. Clean combination for Zellhuber. Ribovics has slowed down. Big double hook combination from Ribovics. Zellhuber throws double-double punches to no avail. A big right hurts Zellhuber. They trade blows hard and end the fight.

That was absolutely ridiculous. Fight of the year. Wow.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Ribovics and 29-28 overall for Zellhuber.

Official decision: 29-28 Ribovics, 29-28 Zellhuber, 29-28 Ribovics – Split decision for Ribovics

After the fight:

I mean, what else can you say? That was just stupid, man. There was no real loser. Chaos.