Due to some card rejiggering, the catchweight contest between
Rodriguez (17-2, 2-0 UFC) and Borjas (9-3, 0-2 UFC) is currently
the main card opener. The fight was originally booked at 125
pounds, but “Lazy Boy” could not help himself and exceeded the
divisional cap by a pound. Despite their differences in momentum,
this is one of the matches tonight with the closest betting line,
with Rodriguez still the favored man of the two both in the
building and on the books. The fighters are ready, and referee Herb
Dean is ready too. The crowd is alive, and the fighters are as
energized as it gets. They choose not to touch gloves, and take
advantage of the amperage. Both fighters aim at one another without
pulling the trigger, until about 45 second passes. Suddenly,
Rodriguez spins with a wheel kick that glances off the target, and
his second attack is a jumping switch kick. Rodriguez uses kicks to
back Borjas off, and Borjas walks him down and smashes him square
in the jaw and sets him down. Rodriguez reverse-somersaults to roll
through the knockdown blow, and somehow appears not compromises at
all and in fact waves Borjas on. Rodriguez lands a few times to get
back at Borjas, and he walks the Peruvian fighter down looking for
a way in. A Rodriguez spin kick slaps off the raised hands, and he
presses forward calmly with his right hand ready to fire. When
Borjas catches his foe’s leg, Rodriguez yanks his limb free and
resets. Borjas just misses with a one-two, and Rodriguez gets in a
low kick and ducks away from a counter right hand. Borjas connects
with another overhand right, and Rodriguez responds with kicks. A
fireball of a Borjas right hand torches Rodriguez and knocks him
off his feet again, and like before, “Lazy Boy” returns right back
upright and is again prepared to brawl. Borjas enters and fires off
more strikes, only to be met with a crisp right hand that stuns
him. Rodriguez shoots into a takedown attempt, and Borjas times a
jump knee and clacks it off Rodriguez’ knee. Rodriguez lifts his
foe’s leg up and attempts to slam it down to simultaneously go for
a takedown and hyperextend the limb. On his second try, Rodriguez
gets his foe down. Time expires before he can do anything with the
position. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Borjas Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-8 Borjas Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Borjas

Rodriguez is the initial aggressor in the second round despite
getting dropped twice. He tries a jumping kick that is well off the
mark, and Borjas lets it soar way past him. Rodriguez chips at the
front leg with a kick as he settles himself down, and he springs
into action with a looping left and a body kick on the other side.
Rodriguez slaps the front leg with another kick, and he gets caught
with a few jabs but slings heavy leather. Rodriguez just misses
with a front kick, and he swings a left hand that turns out to be a
strange level change. Borjas is easily out of the way, and once
more he has a jump knee waiting for the shot that he expects and
eventually comes from Rodriguez. Borjas stands in the pocket and
drills his man with a one-two, and Rodriguez reels and re-enters
the melee while pointing at the floor for more of that. Borjas does
not go for broke, and Rodriguez chases him around the Octagon and
scores a leg kick. Rodriguez has a wheel kick partially connect,
and he sprints at Borjas to attack more. Borjas escapes, but he
does not avoid the low kick that comes. Borjas stands his man up
with a clean right hand, and Rodriguez answers him with a front
kick straight up the middle. Rodriguez gets popped when kicking the
front leg, as Borjas is prepared with counters, especially the
power right. Rodriguez spins and his heel bounces off the chest,
and he chains a low kick into a jumping switch kick. Borjas slips
and moves, and he times a right hand that drops Rodriguez to a
knee. Rodriguez, steel in his noodle, rebounds and crashes the
pocket for a single-leg entry. Borjas defends it by putting his
back to the wall, and he keeps his guard up to block a spinning
back fist right before the bell. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Borjas Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Borjas Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Borjas

Rodriguez runs out of his corner to attack with a big front kick to
start things off, and Borjas easily deflects it. When Rodriguez
engages, Borjas doubles up on a jab and rifles off his nasty right
hand. Rodriguez keeps in the pocket throwing hands rather than
backing off, resulting in Borjas ripping the body after. A right
hand from the Peruvian fighter busts Rodriguez’ nose up, and
Rodriguez chains a few punches together that get Borjas’ attention.
Jabs are traded, and Borjas uses a right hand to break up a leg
kick try. When Rodriguez throws, Borjas clacks him with his
overhand right, a strike that seemingly cannot miss. Rodriguez
jumps with a switch kick and then lands to toss out a wheel kick,
but he is too close to do anything with it. This allows Borjas to
plant his feet and blast him in the face with a mean right hand,
and he seconds it with another that Rodriguez tries to absorb by
leaning back. Rodriguez accepts that he will get jabbed as he
starts loading up with more power, and he ducks and protects
himself from a head kick that he nearly leaned into. Rodriguez gets
stood up when throwing hands once more, and he lobs a low kick at
his opponent. Borjas rolls with a punch and looses a few more,
breaking up a combo with a head kick and then stifling Rodriguez
with a second. Borjas checks a kick and points at Rodriguez, who
came up gimpy from the shin-on-shin contact. Rodriguez bites down
on his mouthpiece, blood streaming down his mouth, and he slings
several failed wheel kicks and power strikes that do not connect.
Rodriguez points to the mat to force a final brawl, and Borjas
thinks twice and then decides to oblige him. Rodriguez clips him
back, and he even has a cartwheel kick bounce off the Peruvian’s
guard. Rodriguez pounds a leg kick home, and the two swing it out
right to the final bell. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Borjas (30-27 Borjas) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Borjas (30-26 Borjas) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Borjas (30-27 Borjas)

Before the main card commences, the UFC really shows off what the
Sphere can do. A few videos play, and we find ourselves in Level 2,
in front of some Aztec-looking pyramids. This is the real deal. As
far as fights go, a bit of a sleeper matchup became one much
noisier on Thursday courtesy of Rodriguez’ (16-2, 1-0 UFC) on-stage
verbal confrontation with Osbourne (12-7, 1 NC; 4-5 UFC).
Spanish-speaking viewers might have had their ears filled with all
sorts of obscenity, but it may have been just what the doctor
ordered to spice up this 125-pound affair. Referee Chris Tognoni
will keep clean what has turned into a slight grudge match, one
that has devolved to the point that they opt not to touch ‘em up
before proceeding. Osbourne immediately fights behind his jab,
landing two clean left hands behind them. Rodriguez tries to parry
the blows and ends up eating two hard body kicks. Rodriguez
recklessly attacks with a naked kick, and Osbourne counters him
with a blistering right hand that sends “Lazy Boy” collapsing to
the mat. Osbourne follows him to the ground to finish the job,
dropping down hammerfists and punches, and he snatches up a
triangle choke and rolls to his back to lock it down. Rodriguez
clings to consciousness and absorbs several elbows at the top of
the head, and he miraculously stands himself up to free himself
from the seemingly fight-ending choke. Rodriguez lowers himself
back down into the guard, and he gathers his thoughts as Osbourne
hacks at him with elbows from his back. Osbourne continues to slash
from his back, and Rodriguez has his thoughts about him and he
delivers some mean ground-and-pound back. Rodriguez slams home a
few elbows that stun Osbourne, and Osbourne angrily swings back at
him from the bottom. A few wide-arcing hammerfists sting Rodriguez
again, making Rodriguez lower himself back down instead of sitting
up to attack again. Osbourne turns to his side and closes his
guard, and he absorbs a few ground strikes from his opponent.
Rodriguez jams down several punches and elbows to stay busy and
perhaps stave off a 10-8 score, and he maintains this position
until the horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-8 Osbourne Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-8 Osbourne Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-8 Osbourne

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez

The exhausted fighters try to bump fists, but they miss and shrug
it off. Rodriguez level changes into a huge overhand left, and
Osbourne springs away to defend against a takedown try. Rodriguez
blocks a head kick and shoots for another takedown, and Osbourne
sprawls it effectively and digs a kick to the ribs. Rodriguez
whiffs on a home run punch, and his leg is tenderized a few times
with kicks. Rodriguez is warned for outstretched fingers, and
Osbourne snaps out a handful of jabs. Osbourne clicks a short right
hand off the jaw, and Rodriguez has to hang on to not lose his
footing. Osbourne fires a jab out, and Rodriguez tags him with an
overhand right as “The Jamaican Sensation” acknowledges the blow.
Osbourne dodges a pair of spinning wheel kicks, and he jabs
Rodriguez up. Rodriguez loads up on haymakers, and he overswings
his way into a double-leg attempt coming his way. Rodriguez stops
the takedown and make them reset. Osbourne clinches his foe up, but
he cannot hold him there as they back off. They trade left hooks,
and Osbourne blinks it out and shoots for a double. Rodriguez
latches onto the kimura immediately to sweep his man, but Osbourne
remains heavy on top. Rodriguez returns to his knees and then feet
to stand, and Osbourne backs off. Osbourne peppers his adversary
with jabs, and he shoots a double when Rodriguez swings so hard he
nearly falls over. Osbourne sits up after bailing on it, and
Rodriguez holds on with a guillotine choke grip before aiming to
take the back. Osbourne opts to falling to his back instead of
giving it up, and they start trading with offense on both sides.
Rodriguez lands several strikes, and Osbourne whips elbows back at
him. The wild match comes to a close, and the judges will have
their hands full with this one. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez (28-28) Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez (28-28) Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez (28-28)

We stay at flyweight for this next matchup, as 2020 Dana White’s
Contender Series competitor Rodriguez (15-2, 0-0 UFC) lost his
audition there and went on to rattle off five straight victories to
get signed. He faces struggling Ukrainian Bondar (14-4, 0-2 UFC),
whose search for his first win since 2020 continues. Referee Mike
Beltran will keep track of the particulars, including the fighters
touching ‘em up to engage. Rodriguez claims the center of the cage
and shakes his head when Bondar kicks him in the shin and jabs him
in the belly. Rodriguez ignores it and lets a spinning kick whiz
past him so he can sit down on two heavy punches. Bondar picks and
pokes from kicking range, and he swings for the bleaches and uses
his momentum to bowl the Mexican fighter over. Rodriguez is quick
to turn to his knees in an effort to stand, and Bondar seizes on
this moment by taking his back and dragging him down. Rodriguez
reverses him and takes a series of elbows to the head before
working his way back to his feet. Bondar once again chambers and
fires a huge overhand right, and he tackles Rodriguez to the
canvas. Rodriguez looks to set up a guillotine choke, and when this
fails, he absorbs some ground-and-pound before setting up a
triangle choke. Bondar stands up to get out of any bad leverage,
and Rodriguez snatches up his arm and upkicks Bondar in the face a
few times. Rodriguez gets back up and absorbs kicks to the body and
leg, and he wades forward no-selling the strikes that the Ukrainian
land on him. Rodriguez continues to press forward, popping Bondar
with two shots, and he walks right into a spinning back elbow.
Rodriguez does not bat an eye as he continues to stalk his foe, and
he lands a few punches and crowds him to stop a spinning elbow from
succeeding. Rodriguez jabs the chest and then rips a left to the
body, and he snaps the head back with a quick left hook. Rodriguez
scores a heavy low kick, and Bondar shakes his head at him with
frustration before shooting for a takedown. Rodriguez worms his way
up and turns the corner to put Bondar on his seat, and he crowds
Bondar with dirty boxing until the round ends with a single big
punch from either man. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Bondar Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Bondar Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Bondar

Rodriguez rushes out of his corner right into two leg kicks, and he
blocks a subsequent head kick while looping a pair of punches at
his adversary. Bondar slides to the side just enough and wings a
right hand, and he is countered by two punches. Bondar spins with a
picture-perfect elbow that smashes into the Mexican’s jaw, and
Rodriguez eats it like a tamale and pushes forward to pursue a
takedown. During an exchange, Bondar rolls for an armbar, and
Rodriguez stacks him up and frees his arm from any immediate
danger. Both men fight back to their feet, and Bondar is warned for
grabbing the fence while hanging on in the clinch. Rodriguez knees
the body while Bondar keeps tugging on the cage, until Bondar belts
him with an elbow on the break. Rodriguez gives chase, swatting
away a leg kick and turning his hips into a thudding leg kick.
Rodriguez fakes with a spin, and he succumbs to a distant
double-leg entry and attempts hook up a guillotine choke. Rodriguez
bails on the submission and turns his man around to take Bondar’s
back, and he gets hooks in before completing the body triangle.
Bondar hand-fights to defend against any choke attempts, and
Rodriguez softens him up with strikes while changing the body lock
from side to side to stop Bondar from escaping. Rodriguez peppers
his man with left hands, and Bondar takes a deep breath and turns
himself all the way around to wind up on top. Rodriguez threatens
with a triangle, and Bondar responds with a heel hook that puts him
in danger of eating shots. Rodriguez punches his way out of the
submission with left hand after unanswered left hand, and Bondar
turns over to surrender his back once more. Rodriguez welcomes this and snatches up the rear-naked choke, and
he locks it up without even bothering to get a hook in. Instead,
Rodriguez flattens the Ukrainian out and cinches up the choke with
everything he has. With seconds left in the round,
Bondar taps out, and the crowd goes electric for the first Mexican
fighter to win tonight.

Ronaldo Rodriguez

Fight History

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Striking Profile

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Grappling Profile

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Conclusions Summary