UFC: Tony Ferguson defeats Rafael dos Anjos in Mexico City classic

Diego Sanchez overcame Marcin Held in the co-main event

Ferguson celebrates victory (Getty)

After a three-week hiatus, Ultimate Fighting Championship got back to doing what they do best with an action-packed night full of big knockouts, slick submissions, and fights with big consequences in Mexico City, Mexico.

On paper, the main event looked one of the strongest non-pay-per-view headliners of the year with the #2 ranked lightweight Rafael dos Anjos taking on the #3 ranked Tony Ferguson in a fight of two men looking to put themselves into the title mix with an impressive win.

Fans were expecting a war and that’s exactly what dos Anjos and Ferguson served up.

Round one was a clear dos Anjos round and his countered Ferguson well and made him pay for his poor timings. Ferguson however, rallied in the middle portion of the fight and began to land his left with frequency in rounds two and three to cause a cut underneath the eye of the Brazilian.

The action was frenetic and relentless as both men pushed forward exchanging brutal hands and leg kicks in the pocket. Both men had their successes, but it was Ferguson who seemed to deal with the pace better as dos Anjos seemed to slow down as the rounds ticked by and the strikes on him accumulated.

By the end of round five, dos Anjos was a bloody mess as Ferguson danced on the outside and pot shotted away at him from distance as the clock ran down.

Rafael dos Anjos lost via unanimous decision (Getty)

After twenty-five action packed minutes, all three of the judges deservedly awarded the fight to Ferguson who cleaned up on all three scorecards 48-47. In doing so, Ferguson became the first man in UFC lightweight history to pick up nine wins in a row in the UFC.

The Nightmare continues

In the co-main event, Diego Sanchez overcame the odds and picked up his twenty-seventh career victory over the debutant Marcin Held.

Sanchez put on a clinic of fluid striking and grappling as he took Held down in both the second and third rounds and spent extended periods in top control reigning down with vicious ground and pound.

Sanchez took the fight on the scorecards and in doing so took his professional record to 27-8.

Wins for Grasso, Lamas, Dariush and Alvey

Also on the main card, Alexa Grasso made an impressive debut with a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Heather Jo Clark, while Ricardo Lamas also picked up a big win against the Brazilian Chars Oliveira when he submitted him in the second round.

There were also wins for Beneil Dariush who defeated Rashid Magomedov via a unanimous decision and Martin Bravo who won The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 series when he defeated Claudio Puelles with a crippling body shot in the second round of their finale matchup.

In the UFC Fight Pass prelim headliner, Sam Alvey put on a gutsy display and overcame a tough first round to outpoint Alex Nicholson 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards.

UFC Latin America Finale 3 Full Results

Main Card

Tony Ferguson def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Martin Bravo def. Claudio Puelles via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 1:55

Diego Sanchez def. Marcin Held via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)

Ricardo Lamas def. Charles Oliveira via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 2:13

Beneil Dariush def. Rashid Magomedov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Alexa Grasso def. Heather Jo Clark via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Preliminary Card

Erik Perez def. Felipe Arantes via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Joe Soto def. Marco Beltran via submission (heel hook) - Round 1, 1:37

Max Griffin def. Erick Montano via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:54

Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Henry Briones via TKO (spinning backfist) - Round 3, 2:33

Preliminary Card

Sam Alvey def. Alex Nicholson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Marco Polo Reyes def. Jason Novelli via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Enrique Barzola def. Chris Avila via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)