UFC Fight Night 98 results: Heavy favorite Alexa Grasso bloodies up Heather Jo Clark in UFC debut

MEXICO CITY – Alexa Grasso dominated Heather Jo Clark to snatch a victory in her UFC debut, and in the process gave credence to some lofty expectations for her stay in the organization.

Grasso (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) battered Clark (7-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) from the first minute of the fight, bloodying her early and keeping the pressure on for a clear unanimous decision victory to maintain her perfect professional record.

The women’s strawweight bout opened up the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 98 event at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City. It aired on FS1 following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Grasso did her most damaging work in the first frame, mixing punch combinations with kicks and knees to the body to keep Clark guessing. After a failed takedown attempt by Clark, Grasso unloaded with an assault that forced Clark into the fence and left her nose bloody and her vision compromised.

Before the second round, Clark admitted to her corner that she was having trouble seeing. After a brief examination between rounds, the fight continued into the second and Clark’s fortunes didn’t improve much from there.

Grasso was the quicker fighter at distance, the busier one in the clinch, and the fresher one as the fight stretched into the third round. While she may have taken her foot off the gas somewhat in the final round, she still finished strong with a slam takedown of Clark in the final minute, removing any doubt as to who the victor was. When the judges weighed in, all three saw it for Grasso, turning in scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.

Grasso remains undefeated with the win in her UFC debut. Clark has now lost two in a row.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 98 results include:

• Alexa Grasso def. Heather Jo Clark via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Erik Perez def. Felipe Arantes via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 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
• 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)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 98, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Fernanda Prates contributed to this report on site in Mexico City.)