UFC Fight Night 90: Dos Anjos vs Alvarez live results, play by play, round scoring

Join us tonight on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion and play-by-play as UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez takes flight from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The entire event will stream on UFC Fight Pass.

Reigning UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos puts his belt on the line against hard-nosed wrestle-boxer Eddie Alvarez in the main event. In the co-main, big fellas Derrick Lewis and Roy “Big Country” Nelson will surely try to fell one another quickly and emphatically. Rounding out the main card are welterweights Alan Jouban vs. Belal Muhammad and lightweights Joseph Duffy vs. Mitch Clarke.

Live results and play-by-play will commence with the opening preliminary bout on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET. The full lineup and schedule follows. Check out this week’s MMA Vivisection for predictions, analysis and betting odds on each match up.

Main Card
(UFC Fight Pass, 10 p.m. ET)

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Eddie Alvarez
(UFC LW championship)

R1: Sharp inside low kick starts things off for Alvarez. And another. Dos Anjos lands short on a straight left and Alvarez answers with a right. Inside low kick is there for the champ, then he glides forward to land a stout uppercut. Glancing left cross from dos Anjos. Alvarez with a light inside low kick that flows into a blast double leg; Dos Anjos tries to roll him and they separate in the transition, though dos Anjos catches him with a short knee after they stand up.

Alvarez erupts into a scorching flurry and he blasts dos Anjos with a right hand, causing him to reel backwards. Alvarez morphs into a virtual propeller of flying leather, swarming dos Anjos with endless salvos of tightly sprung power punches. He maintains the freakish pace, battering the champion with every sort of left and right imaginable. Dos Anjos amazingly stays on his feet though he’s barely lucid. Herb Dean finally steps in to cease the one-sided mauling. We have a new lightweight champion.

Derrick Lewis vs. Roy Nelson

R1: Lewis follows a big left into the clinch and lands a glancing knee to the body. Nelson lowers his level and steers Lewis onto the fence with a strong right under-hook. Nelson only half-commits to a protracted double-leg attempt, perhaps looking to tire Lewis out. They’re separated by the ref and look to exchange harsh words. Lewis rushes Nelson with a shockingly fast high kick and a follow-up left, putting Nelson on his heels.

Nelson backs off and then lunges forward with a level change, taking Lewis down. Lewis manages to scramble back to his feet and plant a massive knee on Nelson’s chin, causing him to reel back. Lewis, smelling blood, attacks with a wild flurry of heaters but the crafty Nelson again clinches up to recover and slow the pace. Referee John McCarthy splits them up again and Nelson shoots him a steely, disapproving glance. Lewis goes back to work with more short jack-hammers and Nelson hits a reactive takedown. 10-8 Lewis.

R2: Lewis opens with another quickly unhinged left kick to the body. Nelson lands an outside low kick to the upright Lewis in a rare instance in which he’s not under assault. Lewis immediately changes his stance and continues to slowly retreat. Nelson forces a clinch and slows the momentum with fence pressure, then hits a takedown.

Nelson quickly advances to side control, looking to control the right arm of Lewis. Lewis powers his way out of the position and back to his feet. Nelson with a sneaky trip but Lewis gets back up. Nelson repeats and keeps Lewis down this time, again passing to side mount and looking to isolate an arm. 10-9 Nelson.

R3: Nelson glances with a counter right hook. Lewis knifes in with a knee to the body that lands but Nelson meets him head-on and puts him on the fence. Nelson goes for a double leg and gets it after turning the corner, landing in a closed half guard. Nelson tries to pull his leg through and mount but he’s stopped.

Lewis struggles back to his feet but he’s taken back down as soon as he unleashes a strike. He’s back up again and Nelson keeps him on the fence until they’re separated by the ref. Heavy left kick to the body from Lewis, who then comes forward to land a heavy combination. Nelson clinches up to the crowd’s chagrin, but Lewis shoves him away and absolutely clobbers him with a huge right hand that sends saliva flying across the cage. 10-10 for Lewis late outburst; the most effective offense of the round. I have it 29-27 Lewis.

Alan Jouban vs. Belal Muhammad

R1: After a minute of uneventful jousting, Jouban unfurls a left hand that sails into the jaw of Muhammad, sitting him down. Jouban pounces but Muhammad gets full guard and fights back to his feet. Muhammad hits a brief takedown but Jouban pops back up, still in the clinch. Muhammad attempts a crafty sweep attempt but can’t finish it, and they reset in open space.

Muhammad lands a quick counter jab and Jouban responds by swinging his left shin into Muhammad’s face, dropping him again. Jouban swarms with punches and, though the fight could arguably have been stopped, Muhammad somehow recovers and battles to the standing position. 10-7 Jouban.

R2: Muhammad is understandably a bit tentative to engage, carefully dodging jabs and hooks from Jouban. Jouban lands a left body kick to break the steady rhythm of his jabs. Jouban wallops Muhammad with a nasty left hook, and he goes down again. The cyborg-like resilience of Muhammad kicks in and he works back up to his feet.

In the clinch, Muhammad changes levels to attack the hips and the tactic forces Jouban to defend for a short period before they separate. Jouban continues to whittle him down with sporadic shots, high and low, from out on the fringe. Muhammad manages to hit a takedown in the final seconds of the round. 10-8 Jouban.

R3: Jouban scores with a reactive high kick early but Muhammad answers with a right hand. Muhammad off-balances Jouban briefly and puts him on the fence when he stands back up. Jouban breaks the clinch and circles off the fence to separate. Muhammad paws at his eye after a punching exchange but Herb Dean tells him to fight on.

Muhammad steps in after evading a wide hook and dings Jouban with a salvo of short punches. Muhammad, gaining confidence an momentum, trudges forward with more aggressive punches. Jouban is warned for extending his fingers a second time. Muhammad corners Jouban and starts drumming him with methodical, heavy punches, and Jouban might be hurt. Muhammad marches forward fearlessly, keeping a steady hum-drum of leather in Jouban’s face. More relentless battering from Muhammad in the final stretch, and Jouban is bloodied up and staggering. Muhammad lands a spinning back fist just before the horn sounds. 10-8 Muhammad. I have it 28-25 for Jouban.

Mitch Clarke vs. Joseph Duffy

R1: Duffy flings a subtly beautiful left round kick over Clarke’s shoulder, then steps back and detonates a right cross on Clarke’s jaw that whips his footing out from underneath him. He goes face down on the canvas and Duffy misses with two punches before jumping to back control and finishing with the mata leao.

Preliminary Card
(UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)

Alberto Mina vs. Mike Pyle

R1: Pyle backpedals patiently throughout the opening 90 seconds as Mina advances with punches. Mina steps in to jam a low kick and takes Pyle down two minutes deep. Pyle closes his guard and controls posture with a strong over-hook on Mina’s right arm. Mina freezes and they’re stood up.

On the restart, Mina clobbers Pyle with a left hook and it drops him. Pyle instinctively rolls into his guard and regains his wits. Mina backs out and stands up, then dives back in with a flying right cross to the face. Pyle gets warned for a blatant fence-grab whilst escaping back to his feet. Mina takes him down in the final seconds and a deep guillotine secured by Pyle is interrupted by the horn. 10-9 Mina.

R2: Mina again steps in to jam a kick from Pyle and succeeds in off-balancing him to the floor. Pyle gets back to his feet quickly but, after yet another sloppy kick attempt, returns to terra firma in harsh fashion courtesy of a flying double knee to the jaw. He drops and Mina finishes him off with strikes.

Mehdi Baghdad vs. John Makdessi

R1: Makdessi opens with a front-leg side kick to the body. Makdessi catches an outside low kick but can’t capitalize. Baghdad catches him with a right cross and a follow-up left hook. Now a left hook to set up a clean outside low kick from Baghdad. Makdessi steps in to jam the next low kick but can’t fire back with a counter.

Inside low kick lands for Makdessi. Baghdad lands a pair of stiff jabs and follows with a right. Makdessi bobs under a left and lands a left hook low, then high. Slapping outside low kick to the upper thigh from Baghdad, then a glancing one-two to keep the more compact Makdessi at bay. 10-9 Baghdad.

R2: They trade jabs but Makdessi follows with an outside low kick. Glancing outside low kick from Baghdad but Makdessi answers in kind. Blindingly fast one-two into a body kick from Baghdad. Makdessi dodges an overhand right and slips in with a left counter. Spinning low kick lands for Makdessi. Clean outside low kick is there for Baghdad.

Makdessi half-checks the next low kick and lands one inside before whiffing on a wheel kick. Makdessi continues to knife into boxing range with angles to score with quick, short-range punches. Spinning kick to body is good for Makdessi. A pivoting counter left now from Makdessi. They trade low kicks. 10-9 Makdessi.

R3: They collide with punches and Baghdad fires a vicious knee to the face from the single collar tie, then he dings Makdessi with two shots as he’s stumbling backwards. Baghdad swarms with punches before going hail mary with a flying armbar attempt. Makdessi postures up to break it and goes to work in the full guard of Baghdad. Baghdad goes for a loose triangle and Makdessi backs out to defend, then lets Baghdad stand up.

Makdessi double jabs, one high and one low. Baghdad thwacks Makdessi with a clean left hook, causing him to waver unsteadily for a moment. Makdessi’s spinning back elbow is blocked but he scores with another jab downstairs. Baghdad with another outside low kick. Counter right to the body lands for Makdessi, then a counter left to the head. Baghdad fires jabs while retreating. Makdessi answers with a kick and a ruthless medley of punches that rocks Baghdad, who falls onto his back yet smiles and waves Makdessi in. 10-10. I have it a 29-29 draw.

Anthony Birchak vs. Dileno Lopes

R1: Birchak lands a left kick to the body but he’s stung by a salvo of counters from Lopes, who then forces a clinch. Lopes slips around to the rear waist cinch and hooks a leg in but he’s out of position for his belly-to-belly suplex attempt. Birchak reverses but Lopes pops back up to his feet and, again, takes the back of Birchak in the transition. Lopes jumps to standing back control with both hooks in and Birchak calmly walks him over to his corner.

Lopes gets sloppy on another throw attempt and this time Birchak secures top position. Scattered ground-and-pound from Birchak before Lopes gets back to his feet and separates, though Birchak lands an up-knee on the break. They trade simultaneous left hooks but Lopes’ lands cleaner and harder. Lopes glues himself to Birchak and moves to the rear waist lock with ease. Lopes hooks his leg again, ducking a Birchak elbow that sails over his head. 10-9 Lopes.

R2: Birchak slips a left kick under the elbow of Lopes and into his ribs. They engage in a prolonged and fairly high-paced exchange of punches, both landing their fair share. Birchak puts him on the fence and quickly separates with a hard left hook that buckles the legs of Lopes, who responds with a crushing left hook of his own.

Birchak drives Lopes into the fence and secures double under-hooks. After a short struggle, Lopes gets the double unders and puts Birchak on the cage. Birchak nearly gets to the rear waist cinch but Lopes defends and reclaims his clinch position. Lopes gets halfway behind Birchak and again hooks the outside leg as Birchak goes to the kimura counter. 10-10.

R3: The competitors hug it out and raise their arms to incite the crowd to begin the final stanza. Birchak glances with a counter elbow on a clinch break. Lopes tries to knife in and attack the hips of Birchak but the attempt is thwarted and Birchak separates. Quick counter jump-knee lands to the body for Birchak. Both fighters are just off the mark with heavy combinations in successive exchanges.

They trade right hands. Birchak follows with a fast one-two and catches Lopes. Lopes tags Birchak with a slick counter left. And another from Lopes. Now it’s Birchak who scores with a counter left before stuffing a Lopes double-leg attempt. Birchak lands a few knees to the body before Lopes can separate. Glancing left from Lopes. Now a clean counter left from Lopes, then another clubbing left to the head. 10-9 Birchak. I have it a 29-29 draw.

Russell Doane vs. Pedro Munhoz

R1: Doane starts with a spark, slinging heavy left hands and a pair of left kicks to the body. Switch right hook from Doane that flows into a knee downstairs from the single collar tie. Now it’s another piston-like left that lands for Doane and he tacks on a clean right hook that wobbles Munhoz. Munhoz forces a clinch and they trade elbows to the face before Munhoz changes levels and hits a takedown.

Doane battles back to his feet but can’t break the clinch. Munhoz, with a stream of crimson running down the center of his face, grapevines a leg as if to pursue back control, then switches to the front headlock and falls back for a tight guillotine. It’s tight and Doane taps, giving us our fifth consecutive submission of the night.

Pedro Munhoz defeats Russell Doane by submission (guillotine choke) R1 2:08

Felipe Arantes vs. Jerrod Sanders

R1: Arantes opens with a whirlwind of aggressive kicks, all of which are dodged or blocked. Chopping inside low kick from Arantes, who swarms Sanders with punches and puts him down with a sharp knee. Sanders turtles and Arantes goes to the front headlock while sprawled out. Arantes looks to take Sanders’ back as he’s scrambling out but Sanders sweeps into top position. Suffocating control from Sanders, then he nearly gift-wraps one of Arantes’ arms.

Arantes fights it off but Sanders slithers into full mount and bases down with heavy hips. While Sanders is in full mount, the ref intelligently barks at him to improve position, both an impossibility and a clear overreaction to the howls of the impatient crowd. Sanders keeps heavy top control but isn’t offering too much in the form of effective offense. Arantes goes onto his right hip and Sanders unleashes a short flurry of solid ground-and-pound. 10-9 Sanders.

R2: Sanders waits for Arantes to commit to strikes before countering with a double-leg attempt. Arantes defends initially but ends up succumbing to it. Closed guard for Arantes with his head pinned on the cage. Arantes telegraphs an armbar but still manages to sink it in and, surprisingly, forces a lightning-fast tapout.

Gilbert Burns vs. Lukasz Sajewski

R1: Glancing lead left hook from Sajewski to back Burns off. Now a left round kick to the body from Sajewski followed by another lead left hook that lands, this time downstairs. Burns rushes him and puts him on the cage in the over-under. Sajewski lands a right hand to break the clinch, then crushes Burns with another left hook to the body, and Burns might be hurt. The action is rudely interrupted with an inside low kick from Burns that hurtles directly into Sajewski’s cup. We pause for the obligatory genital rehab.

Sajewski starts switching stances on the reset but settles on orthodox. Burns tags Sajewski with a punch and it staggers him briefly. Burns forces a clinch and goes to the front headlock, and Sajewski hits a suplex reversal, rolling Burns over his head and returning to his feet. Burns stays on him, clinching up with short punches that lead into a takedown. Burns pounds away before moving to back control with a body triangle locked on. In the waning seconds, Burns brazenly slings a leg over Sajewski’s shoulder and transitions fluidly into an armbar. Burns straightens out the arm and Sajewski cries out in the pain, inspiring the ref to jump in.

Marco Beltran vs. Reginaldo Vieira

R1: Vieira comes out heaving a one-two that Beltran sidesteps. Beltran lands a short left while retreating, then glances with a quick counter knee as Vieira forces a clinch. Vieira hits a takedown but Beltran pops back up. Vieira sticks with the double leg and yanks Beltran’s hips off the cage to take him down. Cradle pass for Vieira but Beltran stands back up in the transition, then gets away with a quick fence grab to disrupt Vieira’s takedown.

They reset in the center. Beltran goes airborne with a wild flying knee but ends up dinging Vieira with a left hook. Now a sturdy knee lands for Beltran. Blood is now streaming down the center of Vieira’s face but he manages to catch Beltran with a short uppercut. Step-off left lands for Beltran. 10-9 Beltran.

R2: Vieira has a significant vertical gash on his eyebrow, right next to his nose. This doesn’t stop him from wading forward and tagging Beltran with some thuggish punches in the phone booth, which set up a clean double leg for Vieira. Beltran is slippery off his back but Vieira catches him with some ground-and-pound.

Beltran angles for a submission, then flings a volley of up-kicks to the face of Vieira: one glances, the next flattens Vieira, who lands with a rather confused look on his face. Perhaps on instinct, Vieira counters with a leg lock that’s surprisingly effective. Beltran shakes loose and immediately transitions to Vieira’s back, then sinks in a deep rear-naked choke. Vieira taps.

Alvaro Herrera vs. Vicente Luque

R1: Luque glances with an inside low kick 30 seconds in, but he’s warned for a potential low blow on his second offering. Luque snaps an outside low kick home but Herrera blasts him with a mean right cross. Luque fires a jab and times a beautiful single leg, finishing it. Herrera bounces off the canvas and Luque keeps him on the fence, pursuing a double leg.

Luque peels him off the fence and finishes the takedown, landing in Herrera’s full guard. Luque keeps Herrera’s head pinned on the fence, then unleashes a few short left elbows to the head, also passing to half guard. Luque tries to step over and pin Herrera’s left arm to no avail. Herrera goes onto his left hip and stands up, and is finally able to separate. Herrera plugs Luque with a stiff body shot before he’s jammed on the fence and taken down again. Two sharp left elbows from Luque on top. 10-9 Luque.

R2: Luque starts the second in southpaw but quickly returns to orthodox. Luque scores with a left hook and a left round kick to the body. Luque changes levels for a double leg, switches to a single leg to drive Herrera onto the fence, then switches back to a double to complete the takedown. Full, closed guard for Herrera, again with his head jammed on the fence. Grinding cross-face elbows from Luque. Herrera nearly boots Luque off with two feet on his chest but Luque retains top position.

Herrera battles back to his feet and blocks a spinning back elbow. Luque partially lands a double flying knee and flows into an easy double leg, this time landing in side mount. Luque turns the clock and laces on an anaconda choke while, oddly, Herrera stays flat on his back. Luque cranks it and Herrera cries uncle.