UFC 306, The Morning After: Mexico’s final champion collapses amidst Noche celebration

By and large, UFC 306 was f—king awesome.

Not even a pair of 25-minute wrestling matches atop the card can dim my enthusiasm for the night as a whole. Most of the fights absolutely delivered in back-and-forth action, and the entire atmosphere was incredible. From the impressive graphics to the various intricate ring card girl outfits, the event was a grand display of what UFC can achieve if it actually tries.

I am tempted to just recap the event in those terms, the positive experience of the Sphere and glorious shows of the traditional Mexican fighting spirit. There was plenty of both on display! Unfortunately, it’s hard to overlook what I consider to be the greater narrative here: it was a brutal night for Mexico-born athletes.

All told, athletes born in Mexico — which is to say, not Diego Lopes or Raul Rosas Jr. despite their affiliations and popularity with the country — ended up going an unfortunate 1-6 across the entire card. The bitter cherry on top is that Alexa Grasso, the final remaining champion representing Mexico, coughed up her undisputed gold to Valentina Shevchenko in the (likely) closing fight of their rivalry.

From start-to-finish, it was a difficult night for Mexican athletes. Jazmin Yauregui was a five-to-one favorite over Ketlen Souza, but a left hook floored her in the opening couple minutes and saw her submitted immediately. Manuel Torres, Irene Aldana, and Edgar Chairez all brought the fight to their opponents, but each ended up in the loser’s column too on the “Prelims” portion of the card.

The two opening bouts of the main card were as entertaining a pair of back-to-back fights as I can remember. “Lazy Boy” Ronaldo Rodriguez can stand proud as the sole victor from Mexico, as he recovered from nearly being knocked cold to ultimately win a controversial decision over Ode Osbourne in a wild brawl. I hate to label Daniel Zellhuber a loser after showing insane heart and guts in the third round of his scrap with Argentina’s Esteban Ribovic, but he ended up on the wrong side of a split-decision.

Given the circumstances, I have to imagine the pressure to perform and represent her country was weighing heavily on Grasso. Perhaps that’s the reason she fought poorly? Of the three matches between Shevchenko and Grasso, this was the only bout where Grasso was able to accomplish nothing offensive. She attempted several submissions, but attempted really is the key word.

Unlike the first match, none of those would-be strangles turned Shevchenko’s face beet red. Grasso never managed to land any strikes of note on the feet, looking fairly baffled by Shevchenko’s counter combinations. Her sprawl and general takedown defense to shots was nonexistent. On the whole, she seemed unprepared for the usual array of “Bullet” offense despite already having shared the cage with her for more than 40 minutes.

I don’t know if it was pressure, an injury, or just an off night, but it was a disappointing performance from the former champion. Viewed alongside the genuinely moving love letter to Mexican combat sports culture that was Noche UFC in the Sphere, watching all those defeats center stage felt both ironic and sad.

Still, if the video series demonstrated anything, it’s that the Mexican fighting spirit burns bright even while enduring adversity. The next Noche UFC is 12 months away, and I’m fully expecting that same ferocity to create better results for its athletes.

For complete UFC 306 results and play-by-play, click HERE,