The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, Mexico tonight for UFC Fight Night 98: “Dos Anjos vs Ferguson.” The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos and popular rising star Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson.
In the 155-pound co-feature, Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez battled Marcin Held. Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas took on Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira in a makeshift lightweight bout, and Alexa Grasso debuted against “Hurricane” Heather Clark. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the main card.
Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson vs Rafael dos Anjos
Round 1:
Two hard leg kicks landed for dos Anjos early on and Ferguson responded with a body kick. Dos Anjos cracked Ferguson with a kick-punch combo, but he was unable to take Ferguson down. Dos Anjos snapped Ferguson’s head back with a counter left cross and Ferguson answered with a step-in elbow. Right hands landed for both men and dos Anjos kicked to the body. He tagged Ferguson with another hard left cross and followed with a lead right hook. Ferguson fell to the mat and dos Anjos landed punches on the way up. Dos Anjos landed leg kicks, jabs and a spinning backfist in the final minute. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Round 2:
Ferguson picked up the pace in round two and cut dos Anjos near the right eye with a flurry of punches, but dos Anjos backed him up with a counter flurry. Time was called after dos Anjos was poked in the eye. The fight resumed and dos Anjos threw looping hooks before shooting in for a takedown. Ferguson stuffed it and both men landed punches. Ferguson kicked to the body and targeted dos Anjos’s lead leg. A head kick and two hooks landed for dos Anjos, but Ferguson kept him on the defensive with quick flurries. Both men were wobbled by left hooks and Ferguson landed a series of leg kicks. 10-9 Ferguson.
Round 3:
Ferguson stunned dos Anjos with lunging punches in the third round and kicked dos Anjos off after he was briefly taken down. Back on the feet, dos Anjos landed jabs and a combination to the body. He cracked Ferguson with a huge head kick and follow-up punches, but Ferguson was unfazed and he pressed forward with hooks in return. Big left hands landed for dos Anjos and he followed with a leg kick. Dos Anjos tagged Ferguson with another hard combination and Ferguson replied with two leg kicks. The round ended with dos Anjos landing jabs and a spinning backfist. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Round 4:
The fourth round began with Ferguson landing leg kicks and one-twos as dos Anjos’s right eye continued to swell up. Ferguson followed with a knee and more kicks. He rolled for a kneebar, but gave it up and stood up. Hard one-twos landed for both men and Ferguson targeted the body. Dos Anjos found success with combinations and leg kicks late in the round, but Ferguson kept the pressure on with body shots. Hard left hands landed for both fighters and Ferguson briefly wobbled dos Anjos with a one-two before the bell. 10-9 Ferguson.
Round 5:
Ferguson walked dos Anjos down with kicks to the lead leg and body in the final round, and dos Anjos countered with hooks while circling away. A big left hook landed for dos Anjos, but Ferguson pressed on and he continued to score with kicks and punches. Dos Anjos, now bleeding from another cut beside his right eye, picked his shots with counter hooks that slowed Ferguson’s forward momentum. The fighters traded four-punch combos and dos Anjos circled out again. The final minute saw both fighters land body kicks. 10-9 Ferguson.
Winner: Tony Ferguson by Unanimous Decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 22-3-0.
Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez vs Marcin Held
Round 1:
Sanchez fought off Held’s clinches and takedown attempts in the first round and dashed forward with a combination. Held walked him down with right hands, but Sanchez countered effectively with body kicks. A series of lead left hooks and an uppercut scored for Held, who clipped Sanchez with a cartwheel kick to the jaw. Sanchez shot in for a takedown and Held defended against the fence. He trapped Sanchez in a very tight power guillotine choke, but Sanchez somehow escaped by climbing and kicking off of the cage. 10-9 Held.
Round 2:
Held attempted a rolling kneebar into a heel hook in round, but but Sanchez punched his way free. A scramble ensued and Held tried for another heel hook. Sanchez peppered him with punches from top position throughout the latter half of the round. He moved to S-mount and dropped a series of left hands to Held’s face in the final 20 seconds. 10-9 Sanchez.
Round 3:
Sanchez stuffed a takedown in the final round and fought off an armbar and an omoplata attempt from Held. Hard punches landed for Sanchez from the top, but Held remained active from his back and he looked to set up a heel hook and a toe hold. Sanchez postured up with hammerfists and elbows until Held rolled for a kneebar. Sanchez passed to mount and landed big right hands to close out the fight. 10-9 Sanchez.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 27-9-0.
Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas vs Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira
Round 1:
Lamas threw a head kick early in the opening minute and he took Oliveira down near the cage. From the top, Lamas threw hammerfists until Oliveira scrambled in search of a heel hook. The fighters stood and Oliveira took Lamas’s back. He slammed Lamas down and secured a Brabo choke in a scramble after Lamas briefly returned to his feet. Lamas escaped, but he wound up on the bottom. Oliveira took his back and worked for a rear-naked choke and a neck crank. Lamas survived, but he ate some hard elbows before the bell. 10-9 Oliveira.
Round 2:
Oliveira took Lamas back down in the second round, but Lamas swept and worked from the top in side control. Oliveira exploded out and tried to stand up, but Lamas pulled half-guard with a guillotine choke. Oliveira held on momentarily, but he was forced to tap out.
Winner: Ricardo Lamas by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:13 of round two. He improves to 17-5-0.
TUF Latin America 3 Lightweight Final
Martin “El Toro” Bravo vs Claudio “El Niño” Puelles
Round 1:
Bravo remained the aggressor on the feet throughout the first half of round one, and he kept Puelles on the defensive with punches and knees. Puelles scored a brief takedown into back control, but Bravo battled back to his feet and flurried with punches. Puelles responded with body kicks, but Bravo stunned him with a hard combination in the final 15 seconds. 10-9 Bravo.
Round 2:
Bravo continued to get the better of the striking exchanges with crisp combinations and body kicks in the second round. He backed Puelles up against the cage and landed two left hooks to the liver that crumpled Puelles to the mat. Bravo landed more punches as Puelles turtled on the mat, and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Martin Bravo by TKO (Punches) at 1:55 of round two. He improves to 11-0-0 and becomes the TUF Latin America 3 Lightweight Winner.
Beneil Dariush vs Rashid “Goretz” Magomedov
Round 1:
Dariush closed the distance with short punches and knees in the early goings, but Magomedov countered with a takedown and he took Dariush’s back on the way up. Time was called after Dariush was knees in the groin, but action resumed and Dariush threw head kicks and winging left hands. Hard body kicks and a back elbow strike landed for Dariush, and both fighters threw short uppercuts in a clinch. Magomedov tripped Dariush and finished the round on top. 10-9 Dariush.
Round 2:
Magomedov landed body kicks in the second round, but Dariush remained the aggressor and he continued to press forward with leg kicks and overhand lefts. He held Magomedov against the fence and worked for takedowns, but Magomedov defended well and the fight remained on the feet. Magomedov eventually broke free and threw a head kick that led to an exchange of hard knees to the body. 10-9 Dariush.
Round 3:
The final round began with both men landing powerful kicks to the body. In the clinch, Dariush threw knees and Magomedov punched over the top. This continued for more than two minutes until referee Herb Dean finally called for a break. Hard punches were exchanged and the fighters clinched yet again. Magomedov kicked to the body and both men landed knees late in the close fight. 10-9 Dariush, but all three rounds could go either way.
Winner: Beneil Dariush by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 14-2-0.
Alexa Grasso vs “Hurricane” Heather Clark
Round 1:
Clark flurried with punches early in the opening round and Grasso responded with a head kick. The fighters clinched against the cage and Grasso circled away. Clark scored with a lunging three-punch combo and Grasso replied with another kick. Clark kept her distance and threw kicks to Grasso’s lead leg and body. Grasso hurt her with a head kick that landed near the knee and Clark fell to the mat.
Grasso unloaded with punches, more head kicks and two big knees as a wobbly Clark regained her footing. Clark stayed on her feet and fired back with hard punches of her own, but Grasso kept her pinned against the fence and she continued to score with knees as Clark bled from the nose. Another big combination landed for Grasso in the final minute and Clark countered by clinching with her against the fence. 10-9 Grasso. Close to a 10-8.
Round 2:
The fighters traded single kicks and punches in round two until Clark caught a body kick and backed Grasso up against the cage. Grasso reversed position and threw short right hands and knees in close. She backed away from the clinch and Clark pressed forward with punches. The fighters clinched again and Grasso countered Clark’s punches with knees. Clark used a lateral drop attempt to take the fight to the mat, but Grasso attacked with an armbar and scrambled back up to her feet. 10-9 Grasso.
Round 3:
Grasso opened round three with a body kick and a hard right hand, but Clark closed the distance and clinched. A battle for position ensued against the cage and Clark attempted another lateral drop, but this time she was unsuccessful. Grasso allowed her to stand and the pace slowed as neither woman committed to any sustained offence. Grasso landed occasional body kicks and right hands as Clark pressed forward. Clark’s nose bled heavily from Grasso’s stiff jabs and she was unable to initiate a clinch. Grasso dumped her to the mat and flurried with punches before the bell. 10-9 Grasso.
Winner: Alexa Grasso by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 9-0-0.