After a brief hiatus, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to free television tonight (Sat., Nov. 5, 2016) as the promotion presents UFC Fight Night 98 from inside Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. The FOX Sports 1-televised event will be headlined by a Lightweight fight as Tony Ferguson takes on former division champion Rafael dos Anjos. In the co-main event, Diego Sanchez faces Marcin Held.
Who: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tony Ferguson
What: UFC Fight Night 98
When: Sat., Nov. 5 2016, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass
Where: Mexico City, Mexico, inside Arena Ciudad de Mexico
How To Watch: FOX Sports 1 main card at 10 p.m ET on PPV; FOX Sports 1 "Prelims" undercard at 8 p.m. ET; and UFC Fight Pass early "Prelims" at 6:30 p.m. ET. Live UFC Fight Night 98: Play-by-play coverage here!
What's Hot:
Tony Ferguson has been the odd man out when it comes to getting big fights even though he is currently riding a division best eight-fight win streak. It's probably because no one want's to see his "scary" side inside the Octagon. Nevertheless, "El Cucuy" can perhaps set himself up nicely for a big-money fight or championship bout should he take out former 155-pound champion Rafael dos Anjos -- which is a pretty big fight in itself. For "RDA," a win over the streaking contender can catapult him back into the title hunt after he lost to Eddie Alvarez via knockout earlier this year.
What's Not:
The promotion for the event has been non-existent thanks in large part to UFC's intentions of ending the year with a bang, stacking up cards like UFC 205 and UFC 207. In fact, some -- if not most -- fight fans aren't aware that The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Latin America 3" Lightweight winner is set to be crowned at the event. Charlies Oliveira breaking the scale was pretty lame, too.
Original Card vs. Actual Card:
Kelvin Gastelum was supposed to fight Jorge Masvidal at this event, but TUF 17's winner was yanked from the card to put him up against Donald Cerrone at UFC 205, while Masvidal was pegged to take on Jake Ellenberger at the TUF 24 Finale later this year. After UFC Fight Night 97 was canceled (more on that here), Alex Nicholson and Sam Alvey was moved to this card. Guido Cannetti was pulled from his fight against Marco Beltran after he was popped by USADA for a potential violation. Joe Soto stepped up to save the day once again to take on Beltran.
New Blood:
Former Bellator MMA Lightweight standout Marcin Held will make his Octagon debut. And he'll be thrown into the deep end as he faces long-time veteran Diego Sanchez in the co-main event. Martin Bravo, Claudio Puelles and Alexa Grasso will also be making their UFC debuts.
Injuries:
There weren't any injuries of note that shook up the card, but a lot of cancellations whether it be due to USADA or to stack another event, changed the landscape of the FOX Sports 1-televised card quite a bit.
How The "Prelims" Look:
It's not the most stacked undercard, but I like a couple of fights, including Erik Perez taking on Felipe Arantas. That's because when "Goyito" fights, he almost always delivers with entertainment value. Also, It will be interesting to see if Nick and Nate Diaz's pupil, Chris Avila, can put on a better showing in his sophomore effort against Enrique Barzola.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
Thankfully, no one on the card is seemingly on the chopping block -- no combatant is going in to the event on a losing streak. That said, most of the pressure to pick up a win is on dos Anjos. That's because another loss will not only give him his first back-to-back defeats since losing his first two fights with the promotion way back in 2009, but it will likely send him tumbling down the rankings and his hopes of reclaiming his 155-pound title will dwindle further.
Interest Level: 7/10:
UFC Fight Night 98 is interesting card that has the misfortunate of preceding UFC 205. Aside from the main event, the Ricardo Lamas vs. Charles Oliveira bout is intriguing, especially now that "Do Bronx" has failed to make weight, which will likely further fuel Ricardo's fire. Also, Alexa Grasso has proven to be a legit threat at Strawweight, going undefeated (8-0, 4-0 Invicta FC). If she can do bring some of that success over into the Octagon, she can climb up to a shot at the title sooner, rather than later, as the division isn't the most stacked.
UFC Fight Night 98 Full Fight Card:
FOX Sports 1 Main Event:
155 lbs.: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tony Ferguson
FOX Sports 1 Main Card (10 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Marcin Held vs. Diego Sanchez
145 lbs.: Ricardo Lamas vs. Charles Oliveira
155 lbs.: Martin Bravo vs. Claudio Puelles -- The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Latin America 3" Lightweight tournament final
155 lbs.: Beneil Dariush vs. Rashid Magomedov
135 lbs.: Heather Jo Clark vs. Alexa Grasso
FOX Sports 1 Undercard "Prelims" (8 p.m. ET):
145 lbs.: Felipe Arantes vs. Erik Perez
135 lbs.: Marco Beltran vs. Joe Soto
170 lbs.: Max Griffin vs. Eric Montano
135 lbs.: Henry Briones vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
Fight Pass Undercard "Prelims" (6:30 p.m. ET):
185 lbs.: Sam Alvey vs. Alex Nicholson
155 lbs.: Marco Polo Reyes vs. Jason Novelli
145 lbs.: Chris Avila vs. Enrique Barzola
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 98 fight card on fight night, starting with the Fight Pass "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, and then the remaining undercard balance on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET, also on FOX Sports 1.
For much more on UFC Fight Night 98 click here.