Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. TUF Latin America 3 Finale & Mexico City’s UFC History
3. Quick Stats
4. Main Event: Ferguson Extends His LW Winning Streak
5. Grasso’s Debut, Lamas’ PoN & The Supporting Card
6. Full Results
7. Bonuses & Awards
8. Records & Milestones
9. Legacy & Impact
10. FAQ
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 98: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson took place on Saturday, November 5, 2016 at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 860,000 average viewers (997k peak, 668k prelims). The card drew 11,460 fans. It served as the TUF Latin America 3 Finale and the third UFC event in Mexico City. The main event was a five-round lightweight bout between former champion Rafael dos Anjos and Tony Ferguson.
Ferguson won by unanimous decision (47-48 on all three cards) to extend his lightweight winning streak to nine consecutive victories — a UFC lightweight record at the time. Douglas Silva de Andrade’s spinning back kick KO of Henry Briones and Ricardo Lamas’ guillotine submission of Charles Oliveira earned Performance of the Night bonuses. Fight of the Night went to Ferguson and dos Anjos. Alexa Grasso defeated Heather Jo Clark by unanimous decision in her UFC debut — a performance that opened a career that produced the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship in 2023. Martin Bravo won the TUF Latin America 3 lightweight title.
TUF Latin America 3 Finale & Mexico City’s UFC History
Mexico City had hosted UFC 180 in November 2014 and UFC 188 in June 2015 — both pay-per-view events that drew crowds of 21,000-plus at the Arena Ciudad de México. The TUF Latin America 3 Finale was the first non-PPV UFC event in the city — a smaller commercial format that drew 11,460 fans. The altitude of Mexico City — approximately 2,240 metres above sea level — was a documented factor in fighter performance. Lower atmospheric oxygen pressure at that altitude reduces aerobic performance and accelerates fatigue.
TUF Latin America Season 3 had featured fighters from Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin American countries competing in the lightweight and flyweight divisions. The season’s competitive structure produced Martin Bravo as the lightweight finalist. His main card KO win over Claudio Puelles in round two was the card’s TUF climactic fight. The season’s flyweight bracket result was not part of the November 5 card.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, November 5, 2016
📍 Venue: Arena Ciudad de México, Mexico City, Mexico (3rd UFC event in Mexico City; TUF Latin America 3 Finale; altitude: 2,240 metres)
👥 Attendance: 11,460
📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 860,000 avg. viewers (997k peak, 668k prelims)
🏆 Main Event: Tony Ferguson vs. Rafael dos Anjos — Lightweight (5 rounds; both top-five LW; dos Anjos coming off LW title loss to Alvarez; Ferguson on 8-fight win streak)
✅ Result: Ferguson def. dos Anjos via Unanimous Decision (47-48x3) — 9th consecutive LW win; UFC LW record; dos Anjos’ second successive LW loss
Main Event: Ferguson Extends His LW Winning Streak
Ferguson entered Mexico City having submitted Lando Vannata at Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls despite being briefly dropped by a flying knee. Dos Anjos entered having lost the UFC LW title to Eddie Alvarez in July at Fight Night 90 — a fight where Alvarez’ right hand had shocked him in round one. Mexico City’s altitude was the pre-fight media focus: how would two elite lightweights perform at 2,240 metres, and would accumulated rounds produce greater fatigue than at sea level?
The fight was competitive across five rounds. Dos Anjos took round three on the scorecards of most media observers; Ferguson dominated the final two rounds with relentless offensive output. Ferguson’s 200 total strikes to dos Anjos’ 126 reflected the volume differential. The 47-48 score on all three cards was a unanimous verdict for Ferguson. His ninth consecutive win was the most in UFC LW history to that point and positioned him as the mandatory title challenger against champion Eddie Alvarez.
Grasso’s Debut, Lamas’ PoN & The Supporting Card
Alexa Grasso’s unanimous decision win over Heather Jo Clark in her UFC debut was a Mexican strawweight competing in Mexico City for the first time — the crowd reception acknowledged the home-fighter element of her appearance. Grasso’s striking combination and movement impressed across three rounds. Her debut was a 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 UD that opened a UFC SBW career producing wins over Tatiana Suarez, Carla Esparza, and eventually the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship win over Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285 in March 2023.
Ricardo Lamas’ guillotine choke submission of Charles Oliveira in round two at 2:13 earned Performance of the Night. Lamas jumped on Oliveira’s neck during a scramble and squeezed for the tap. Douglas Silva de Andrade’s spinning back kick KO of Henry Briones in round three earned the other PoN. Max Griffin’s welterweight TKO of Erick Montaño in 54 seconds was the card’s most explosive early finish. Diego Sanchez’ unanimous decision over Marcin Held demonstrated the veteran lightweight’s continued competitive quality at age 33.
Full Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Tony Ferguson def. Rafael dos Anjos — Unanimous Decision (47-48x3) — Lightweight (5 rounds) (FotN $50k each; Ferguson’s 9th consecutive win; LW record; dos Anjos’ 2nd straight loss post-title)
Diego Sanchez def. Marcin Held — Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28) — Lightweight (Sanchez wins at 33; competitive fight)
Ricardo Lamas def. Charles Oliveira — Submission (guillotine) — R2, 2:13 — Featherweight (PoN $50k; Lamas’ guillotine of early-career Oliveira)
Martín Bravo def. Claudio Puelles — KO (punch) — R2, 1:55 — Lightweight (TUF LATIN AMERICA 3 LW TITLE FIGHT; Bravo wins title on home Mexican soil)
Beneil Dariush def. Rashid Magomedov — Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) — Lightweight
Alexa Grasso def. Heather Jo Clark — Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) — Women’s Strawweight (GRASSO’S UFC DEBUT; home Mexican fighter; future UFC SBW champion 2023)
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1 / UFC Fight Pass)
Erik Perez def. Felipe Arantes — Split Decision — Bantamweight (catchweight 138 lbs)
Joe Soto def. Marco Beltrán — Submission (heel hook) — R1, 1:37 — Catchweight 140 lbs
Max Griffin def. Erick Montaño — TKO — R1, 0:54 — Welterweight (Griffin’s 54-second TKO)
Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Henry Briones — KO (spinning back kick) — R3, 2:33 — Bantamweight (PoN $50k; spectacular spinning kick finish)
Sam Alvey def. Alex Nicholson — Unanimous Decision (29-28x3) — Middleweight
Enrique Barzola def. Chris Avila — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — Featherweight
Marco Polo Reyes def. Jason Novelli — Split Decision — Lightweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Tony Ferguson + Rafael dos Anjos — $50,000 each
🥇 Performance of the Night: Ricardo Lamas + Douglas Silva de Andrade — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• Tony Ferguson’s 9th consecutive UFC lightweight win — a UFC LW divisional record at the time.
• Alexa Grasso’s UFC debut win in Mexico City — the beginning of a SBW career that produced the UFC title in 2023.
• 3rd UFC event in Mexico City; first non-PPV card in the city.
Legacy & Impact
Ferguson’s Mexico City win produced a UFC LW interim title fight booking against Khabib Nurmagomedov — a fight that was ultimately cancelled four successive times due to injuries and other factors, becoming one of the most discussed uncompleted title fights in MMA history. His nine-fight win streak was extended to twelve before his 2020 elbow injury loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. The Mexico City performance was the ninth step of a streak that made him the consensus UFC LW champion-in-waiting for a five-year period during which the actual title changed hands multiple times.
Alexa Grasso’s Mexico City debut opened a career that produced a UFC SBW Championship win over Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285 in March 2023 by submission in round four — a result that shocked the combat sports world and established her as Mexico’s most celebrated UFC champion. Charles Oliveira’s Mexico City loss to Lamas via guillotine was a step in a featherweight-to-lightweight transition that eventually produced the UFC LW championship at UFC 262 in May 2021.
FAQ
How significant was Ferguson’s 9th consecutive LW win?
The nine-fight LW winning streak was unprecedented in the division’s history at that point. It had included wins over Josh Thomson, Gleison Tibau, Danny Castillo, Abel Trujillo, Edson Barboza, Myles Jury, Evan Dunham, Lando Vannata, and dos Anjos. The range of opponents — wrestlers, strikers, grapplers, veterans, and prospects — demonstrated Ferguson’s stylistic versatility. His position as LW number one contender was undisputed; the only question was who would be champion when his title fight was eventually booked.
How did Mexico City’s altitude affect fighters?
At 2,240 metres above sea level, Mexico City’s atmospheric pressure provides roughly 76% of the oxygen available at sea level. For aerobic endurance athletes competing in the five-minute rounds of MMA, this produces accelerated heart rates, earlier onset of fatigue, and faster depletion of high-intensity output capacity. Fighters who rely on sustained output in later rounds — as Ferguson does — face greater challenge at altitude. The general pattern in Mexico City UFC events has been more competitive later rounds as fighters adapt and manage fatigue differently from sea-level competition.
Who was Alexa Grasso and why was her debut significant?
Grasso was a 23-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico, who had compiled an 8-1 professional record on regional and Invicta FC circuits before her UFC signing. Her debut in Mexico City — in front of a Mexican crowd — provided the commercial context that validated her early career trajectory. Her technical striking and movement impressed judges across three rounds against Clark. The significance of her debut is retrospective: few observers predicted in 2016 that the striker who won a straightforward three-round decision in Mexico City would become a UFC champion who submitted Valentina Shevchenko seven years later.
What was Charles Oliveira’s position in his career at this fight?
Oliveira entered the Mexico City fight on a three-fight losing streak that had reduced his UFC standing significantly. He had been released from the UFC after losses to Will Brooks, Nik Lentz, and Diego Sanchez before being re-signed for a featherweight run. His Mexico City loss to Lamas via guillotine was his seventh UFC loss against nine UFC wins. The career trajectory that followed was extraordinary: he moved to lightweight, developed one of MMA’s most dangerous submission arsenals, and became the UFC LW champion in 2021 with wins over Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler, and others.
Who was Martin Bravo?
Bravo was a 24-year-old Mexican lightweight who had competed on TUF Latin America Season 3. His KO win over Claudio Puelles in round two of the TUF Finale gave him the TUF LA3 lightweight title and a UFC contract. Fighting in Mexico City on a UFC card dominated by Mexican fighters — with Grasso, Perez, Beltran, and Reyes all Mexican — his title win carried commercial significance for the promotion’s Latin American market development. His subsequent UFC career produced wins and losses without reaching top-ten LW ranking.
How was Ricardo Lamas’ guillotine significant for Charles Oliveira’s development?
Lamas’ guillotine of Oliveira in round two demonstrated a defensive vulnerability that Oliveira subsequently addressed in training. His guillotine defence improvement — and his own development of guillotine offence as one of his primary weapons — produced situations where the same position that had caused him losses became a finishing tool. His guillotine of Michael Chandler in round one of their UFC 262 title fight was the championship-winning finish; the Lamas loss in Mexico City is a historical footnote in the development of the submission that made him champion.