Tony Ferguson picked up the most impressive victory of his career, earning a five-round unanimous decision over former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at a UFC event Saturday night in Mexico City.
The win was Ferguson’s ninth in a row and moved him closer to a lightweight title shot. Current champion Eddie Alvarez will look to defend his 155-pound belt against Conor McGregor next weekend at UFC 205 and it’s entirely possible Ferguson (22-3) ends up fighting the winner of that bout. The only contender theoretically ahead of Ferguson would be Khabib Nurmagomedov if he can remain unbeaten. Nurmagomedov (23-0) fights Michael Johnson on the UFC 205 preliminary card.
Whoever Ferguson ends up facing next will have their work cut out for them, something dos Anjos discovered Saturday. The former champion found a home for his left cross early while mixing in stiff jabs and leg kicks but Ferguson pressed the action in round two, targeting dos Anjos’s body early then attacking with head strikes late. The two exchanged combinations in a back-and-forth third before Ferguson took control over the final two rounds.
It was an impressive display of skill and durability from both fighters and considering the fight took place approximately 7,200 feet above sea level the pace at which they fought was inspiring. As colour commentator Brian Stann pointed out on the TV broadcast, this was a matchup that could have easily been a title fight several months ago since Ferguson has been in the title conversation for the last year and dos Anjos only lost his belt to Alvarez back in July.
All three judges scored the fight 48-47, three rounds to two, for Ferguson.
Fan favourite Diego Sanchez showed he still has some gas left in the tank, picking up a win over UFC newcomer Marcin Held in the night’s co-main event. Sanchez has alternated wins and losses dating back to 2011. It was a disappointing promotional debut for Held, who went 11-3 in Bellator and had hoped a win over a notable opponent like Sanchez would’ve put him on the map in the UFC’s lightweight division.
Ricardo Lamas proved weight advantages don’t mean everything in MMA as he submitted Charles Oliveira with a guillotine choke in the second round of their catchweight bout. The fight was initially scheduled to take place at featherweight (145 pounds), however Oliveira weighed in at 155 pounds Friday. Oliveira was fined 30 per cent of his purse and was also required to weigh in no more than 165 pounds on the day of the fight or else the matchup would be have been cancelled. Oliveira made sure he was 165 pounds Saturday and the fight went on. Oliveira came out with energy, looked sharp and nearly finished Lamas with a rear-naked choke in the dying seconds of the opening round. Lamas was saved by the horn though and two minutes into the second frame locked up Oliveira’s neck and forced a tap via guillotine choke.
An emotional Lamas dedicated his victory to his mother who is battling cancer as well as his late training partner, UFC fighter Josh Samman, who died last month at age 28. Lamas had been scheduled to fight B.J. Penn in Manila, Philippines on Oct. 15, however that event was cancelled after Penn suffered an injury.
In a matchup between top-15 lightweight contenders, No. 9-ranked Beneil Dariush earned a unanimous decision over No. 15-ranked Rashid Magomedov. Joe Soto, Max Griffin and Douglas Silva de Andrade each picked up impressive victories in preliminary action.
Here are the complete results:
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)
— Martin Bravo def. Claudio Puelles by TKO (punches)
— Beneil Dariush def. Rashid Magomedov by unanimous decision
— Alexa Grasso def. Heather Jo Clark Decision by unanimous decision
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Erik Perez def. Felipe Arantes by split decision
— Joe Soto def. Marco Beltran by submission (heel hook)
— Max Griffin def. Erick Montano by TKO (punches)
— Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Henry Briones by KO (spinning back fist)
— Sam Alvey def. Alex Nicholson by unanimous decision
— Marco Polo Reyes def. Jason Novelli by split decision
— Enrique Barzola def. Chris Avila by unanimous decision
