UFC Fight Night 98 Preliminary Results: Erik Perez Edges Out Felipe Arantes
It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Saturday, November 5th, 2016) will come in the form of UFC Fight Night 98. Headlining the card are Rafael dos Anjos and Tony Ferguson, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the preliminary section of the card.
Felipe Arantes vs. Erik Perez in a bantamweight bout closed the UFC Fight Night 98 preliminary card on Fox Sports 1. In round 1, Arantes came out and tagged him with a right hook. Arantes was using his leg kicks quite well. Perez with a lot of movement early. Perez took him down midway through the round with a trip takedown and got top position in half guard. Arantes went for a heel hook, but Perez got out of it and ended back on top with 1:12 to go in the round. Perez scrambled and got on top with just seconds left in the round and landed some big shots. In round 2, Perez looked like he can’t put weight on one of his legs. Arantes attacked it with kicks. Perez took him down halfway through the round and got full mount. Perez worked him over with strikes from this position. Arantes scrambled and got his back with three minutes to go in the round. Arantes softened him up while looking for the rear-naked choke but was never able to get the submission and the round ended.  In round 3, Perez scored a takedown and got into half guard early in the round. Arantes got back to his feet with about two minutes go in the round. Perez is still limping on his right hand. Arantes landed a big head kick. Arantes scored a takedown with just seconds to go in the round and went for an arm triangle, but the bell sounded. The judges gave the split decision victory to Perez.
Marco Beltran and Joe Soto met in a bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night 98. This one did not last long at all and marked our first submission win of the night. Soto came right out and took him down. Soto scrambled and locked in a heel hook for the win. Soto had some blood on his face, but he also had a smile on it as well.
Max Griffin and Erick Montano met in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 98. This one did not last long at all. Griffin comes out and drops him. Montano covers up against the cage and Griffin just smashes his face in with his fist to earn a quick first round stoppage victory.
Henry Briones vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade in a bantamweight bout opened the UFC Fight Night 98 Fox Sports 1 preliminary bouts. In round1, they kept the fight on its feet for the majority of the round. After a slow start, Briones started moving forward and pressing him. de Andrade was using his speed to throw a lot of shots. Briones caught him with 45-seconds to go and started turning up the quantity of shots he was throwing. He calmed down as the round came to an end. In round 2, they were throwing bombs the entire round. Andrade rocked him with a minute to go, and Briones tried a running kick but missed. The place was going nuts as these two fighters just went at it. Briones was bleeding from his nose. In round 3, Andrade started throwing more power shots in this round. Briones tagged him with a series of strikes, but Andrade covered up and landed a forearm then landed a massive spinning back fist for the stoppage victory.
Sam Alvey vs. Alex Nicholson in a middleweight bout finished off the UFC Fight Night 98 Fight Pass preliminary card. In round 1, Nicholson kicked him in the nuts midway through the round after they were exchanging. Nicholson kicked him in the body and that stunned Alvey. Alvey recovered, and Nicholson continued to press forward. In round 2, Nicholson kicked him in the nuts to begin the round. The fight resumed, and Nicholson pressed forward and stunned him with a combo. Alvey stayed in the pocket and continued to fire. Avley was landing more strikes (23-16) in this round, and his jabs were finding their home. In round 3, they exchanged for the entire round. Alvey started throwing more strikes this round. Alvey picked up the unanimous decision victory.
Marco Polo Reyes and Jason Novelli met in a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 98. In round 1, after they had a feeling out process, Novelli went for a takedown with about two minutes to go, but it was stuffed. They clinched on the fence for a bit but then separated. Novelli looked poised to do a lot of moving and not a ton of sticking. Novelli was landing some shots and then getting out of the way. Reyes was poked in the eye with a minute to go in the round. They exchanged to the end of the round. In round 2, they exchange for the majority of the round until Reyes took him down with about two minutes to go. Reyes gets into guard and works him over with strikes. Novelli kept him grounded with a body triangle. In round 3, they came out swinging for the fences and Reyes landed a good left hand with two minutes to go. Reyes started picking up his speed and was pressing forward. Novelli was circling a lot to his left. Novelli took him down and got his back and landed a series of strikes to end the round. Strong finish for Novelli. The judges gave Reyes the split decision victory.
Opening the UFC Fight Night 98 Fight Pass prelims was Chris Avila vs. Enrique Barzola in a featherweight bout. In round 1, Barzola came out aggressive and took him down about two minutes into the round. Avila tried to scramble off his back, but Barzola stayed on him and took his back, but Avila made it to the cage, which saw Barzola clinch and land knees. Avila landed a right hook as they separated. Barzola took him down with 1:30 to go in the round and worked him over with strikes but Avila got to the cage and stood up. In round 2, Barzola stayed on him and took him down about a minute into the round. Avila stood up, but Barzola stayed on him with three minutes to go and they had a nice exchange. Barzola took him down with two minutes to go and got guard and rained down elbows. Avila scrambled to his feet with a minute to go. Barzola stayed on him and continued to pressure him. Avila started to get tired as he had a cut under his left eye.In round 3, Barzola tried to take him down to begin the round but couldn’t. Avila stayed on his feet, and they exchanged until Barzola took him down with 1:30 to go in the round. Avila got to his feet with about 30-seconds to go and Barzola blasted him with strikes then knocked him down with 15-seconds to go. Barzola scored the unanimous decision. Here are the results:
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)
Bantamweight bout: Erik Perez def. Felipe Arantes via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Bantamweight bout: Joe Soto def. Marco Beltran via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:37
Welterweight bout: Max Griffin def. Erick Montano by TKO (punches) at :54 of Round 1
Bantamweight bout: Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Henry Briones via TKO (spinning backfist) – Round 3, 2:33
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Middleweight bout: Sam Alvey def. Alex Nicholson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight bout: Marco Polo Reyes def. Jason Novelli via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Featherweight bout: Enrique Barzola def. Chris Avila via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
