UFC Fight Night 98 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Mexico City
Here's hoping you didn't sleep on UFC Fight Night 98.
You probably were aware that Rafael Dos Anjos and Tony Ferguson—the second- and third-ranked lightweights in the UFC's official rankings—were on the main event in search of the next title shot in what is suddenly the company's most glamorous division.
But you may have been less aware that Ricardo Lamas fought Charles Oliveira on this card. Or that Diego Sanchez manned the lightweight gate against young submission guy Marcin Held. Or that arguably the top prospect in the women's strawweight division, Alexa Grasso, made her UFC debut.
And that only scratches the surface of a deep and slept-on UFC cable card. Were you not among the true believers? Take solace. We're here with a full recap, including the real winners and losers from Mexico City. Don't believe the official scorecards. Read on for the real stuff from Saturday's event.
Full card results appear on the final slide.
Winner: Tony Ferguson
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What else does Tony Ferguson need to do to earn a title shot?
Nothing, in this observer's opinion.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and his legion of fans may take issue with that, but it's true. On Saturday, Ferguson bullied his way to a unanimous-decision win over ex-champ Rafael Dos Anjos.
It was an outstanding fight. Both men inflicted damage with big combinations. The leg kick was a particularly effective weapon for Ferguson, with that bone-on-bone thud providing a soundtrack to the action.
As Dos Anjos began to bleed, Ferguson came on, walking through repeated big shots, imposing pressure on a notorious pressure fighter in Dos Anjos and riding a deep gas tank through 25 red-lining minutes in the high Mexico City altitude.
At UFC 205 next week, Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez fight for the lightweight strap. Perhaps you heard something about that. Would Ferguson serve as a worthy and compelling challenger for whoever emerges from that bout with the title? I'd love to know what else he'd have to do if the answer is no.
Loser: Charles Oliveira
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First, Charles Oliveira missed weight by 10 pounds.
Then, after finding himself on the bad end of side control against Ricardo Lamas, he tapped out to a guillotine choke.
Everyone likes Do Bronx for the physique and potential that hint at a great fighter, but at this point, when will he make good on that? At age 27, he still has plenty of time and talent to turn it around. But in his last four fights, he has either lost, missed weight or both.
It was not a banner weekend for Oliveira. If he's going to get better, his coaches and fans have to hope this is the floor from which he rebounds.
Winner: Diego Sanchez
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The old veteran is not ready to give it up just yet.
The Jackson-Wink original, Mr. Toughness Personified, Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez defied the odds and turned back young upstart Marcin Held in the evening's co-main event.
Held is a master of leglocks, with 12 of 22 submission wins to his name. But Sanchez was ready for all contingencies, staying calm and consistently going for Held's hands to break up holds before they became major problems. Oh, and his limbs are also apparently made of rubber? Held had Sanchez torqued more than once.
Then again, Sanchez is made of sterner stuff than us. And here he is again, at age 34 and with 14 years of pro competition under his belt, winning another one.
Is a resurgence in the offing? Maybe so. Maybe not. But now he's a winner in three of his last five instead of a loser in same, and that's something. Especially when you are Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez.
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Loser: Alex Nicholson
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Never mind that Alex Nicholson lost to Sam Alvey on the evening's prelim card.
Let's dig deeper.
Camp Nicholson was elated when, on Friday—that's the day before this event—the UFC's law firm cleared Nicholson of wrongdoing after investigating a domestic violence incident between him and his fiancee. That's the same fiancee Nicholson proposed to on stage at a UFC weigh-in, if you remember that, which you probably do, since it received plenty of coverage from the UFC and elsewhere.
Hey, cool. Nothing to see here, right? No conflicts of interest for miles around.
It's unfortunate, then, that eyewitnesses and those involved in the incident paint a more complex picture. Nicholson allegedly struck his wife hard enough to leave a mark on her face—and in the parking lot of a 7-11, no less. It was public and serious enough that bystanders took her to a bathroom to protect her and then locked the door behind them to protect them all.
(Oh, and this is the same guy who made bizarre racial comments while cornering teammate Mike Perry at UFC 202.)
Nicholson walked away from punishment because his fiancee didn't cooperate with any investigations. And hey, that's her right. But these things don't happen in a vacuum, and no volume of legal whitewash will change that.
Winner: Martin Bravo
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Lest we forget, this was the season finale for The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America season 3.
And on the prelim card, a fairly sloppy but ultimately satisfying bout for that vaunted six-figure contract and thick glass shard saw a W for the Mexican, Martin Bravo.
The Peruvian Carlos Puelles arguably had more hype coming in and showed off a well-rounded skill set en route to the finale. Ultimately, though, his efforts as a whole were so weak that he was in a dead betting heat coming into the evening, per Odds Shark.
In any case, this was not a close fight. Bravo walked Puelles down for most of the fight and sort of, you know, sonned him. It ended it strikes fairly early in the second round. Give that man a glass shard.
UFC Fight Night 98 Full Card Results
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Main Card
- Tony Ferguson def. Rafael Dos Anjos by unanimous decision
- Diego Sanchez def. Marcin Held by unanimous decision
- Ricardo Lamas def. Charles Oliveira by submission (guillotine choke), 2:13, Rd. 2
- Martin Bravo def. Claudio Puelles by TKO, 1:55, Rd. 2
- Beneil Dariush def. Rashid Magomedov by unanimous decision
- Alexa Grasso def. Heather Jo Clark by unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
- Erik Perez def. Felipe Arantes by split decision
- Joe Soto def. Marco Beltran by submission (heel hook), 1:37, Rd. 1
- Max Griffin def. Erick Montano by KO, 0:54, Rd. 1
- Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Henry Briones by KO, 2:33, Rd. 3
- Sam Alvey def. Alex Nicholson by unanimous decision
- Marco Polo Reyes def. Jason Novelli by split decision
- Enrique Barzola def. Chris Avila unanimous decision
Scott Harris covers MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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