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UFC Mexico City: Quick Results

Tony Ferguson reestablished his lightweight title contender status with a decision win over former champ Rafael Dos Anjos.

Photos by Etzel Espinosa-USA TODAY Sports

Ferguson Sees Off Dos Anjos

Tony Ferguson extended his unbeaten run to nine with a victory over his toughest opponent to date, Rafael Dos Anjos.

The contest went back and forth between the two fighters. By the time the final round came around it was Ferguson who poured on the pressure to secure the nod over the final valuable five minutes.

There will be many fans clamoring to see Ferguson fight for the title following his victory over the former champion. However, with McGregor about to fight for the lightweight strap and with the growing rumors surrounding his future with the promotion, it remains unclear as to what will happen after next weekend's blockbuster card.

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Securing his place at the top of the division, Ferguson will undoubtedly watch the action that's on next week card in New York as his fellow top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov also takes to the Octagon.

Sanchez Decisions Debutant Marcin Held

Diego Sanchez was written off by a lot of media members and fans ahead of his clash with submission specialist Marcin Held, but the TUF 1 alum took a unanimous decision win due to a crafty mixture of striking and top control.

Even in the stickiest situations, Sanchez remained calm and managed to stave off a storm of submissions from the Polish lightweight.

The Mexico City crowd cheered on their hero over the three rounds and Sanchez gets back in the win column with the victory over Held (his last outing resulting in a loss to Joe Lauzon).

Lamas Submits Oliveira

Ricardo 'The Bully' Lamas recorded one of the most impressive wins of his career with a second round submission victory over Charles Oliveira.

Oliveira came in ten pounds over the featherweight limit for Friday's weigh-in and his size advantage gave him an early edge as he outwrestled Lamas. Despite threatening with a number of choke attempts early on himself, it was Oliveira who succumbed to a guillotine in the third round.

Interestingly, it is the second time in a row that Oliveira has been submitted with a guillotine choke. His last outing resulted in a third round loss to former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

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Bravo Buries Puelles with Body Work

Martin Bravo became the lightweight champion of TUF Latin America 3 with a stunning striking display against Claudio Puelles.

Bravo dropped Puelles with a barrage of body shots two minutes into the second round after a dominant first stanza.

The disparity in the fighters' striking skill sets was obvious from the opening minute of the contest. The 23-year-old rocked Puelles on several occasions in the first and the writing was on the wall for a second round TKO based on his output.

Dariush Delivers against Magomedov

Despite coming up on the wrong side of a decision win to Beneil Dariush, Rashid Magomedov proved worthy of the close odds that were offered on the lightweight bout, after three rounds.

Dariush's volume in the first round was the difference. He poured on the combinations and even Magomedov's late takedown at the end of the first wasn't enough to steal him in the round.

The Kings MMA man's output was the difference again in the second and Magomedov's surge in the final round was all too late. Dariush is due a step-up in competition and it will likely come as he already occupies the ninth spot in the UFC's rankings.

Debut for Alexa Grasso

Former Invicta champion Alexa Grasso put on a striking clinic against Heather Clark in her UFC debut, but she couldn't find a way to finish the American in their three-round strawweight bout that opened the main card.

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Grasso looked leaps and bounds ahead of Clarke on the feet and such was the damage that she did to Clarke's face that many people thought the fight could have been stopped in the second round.

Grasso underlined her dominance in the bout with a well-timed double leg in the third round. At 23-years-of-age and with a striking skillset to boast, Grasso could have a massive future in the UFC's strawweight division.

Prelim Card 2

  • Érik Pérez def.Felipe Arante
  • Joe Soto def. Marco Beltrán
  • Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Henry Briones
  • Max Griffin def. Erick Montaño

Prelim Card 1

Sam Alvey def. Alex Nicholson

  • Marco Polo Reyes def. Jason Novelli
  • Enrique Barzola def. Chris Avila