Anthony Hernandez broke fellow ranked middleweight Michel Pereira with his constant pressure on Saturday night, capping off a one-sided performance with a fifth-round stoppage.
13th-ranked middleweight Hernandez prevailed in his first-ever five-round UFC assignment this weekend, headlining a “Fight Night” card from the APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The main event saw Hernandez survive an early rush from Pereira before settling into control and working his way toward a late finish.
Pereira, known for his quick finishes, had a hectic opening minute to the fight. He seemingly overwhelmed Hernandez with a flurry of shots for a brief moment, hurting him with a series of punches to the head and body. But Pereira would soon fade, and Hernandez would begin to push forward and eventually dictate how the fight went.
Hernandez spent more than 15 minutes – roughly the combined time of three full rounds – controlling Pereira on the ground. He used his wrestling skills to get Pereira to the canvas and unleash ground and pound shots, causing him to constantly defend.
Pereira landed just a dozen total strikes from rounds two to five, a testament to how little he was able to do against Hernandez. His corner urged that a stoppage was needed by the final round, asking for just “one shot.”
However, Pereira was exhausted by that point, having spent rounds focusing solely on survival without even getting the chance to think about a pathway to victory.
While he was up as many as four rounds on some scorecards by the fifth, Hernandez kept pushing forward and secured a late stoppage. Shortly after slicing Pereira with a hard elbow to the head, a series of unanswered shots caused referee Herb Dean to step in and end the bout.
Hernandez now has a run of six victories in the middleweight division since 2021. Of those wins, four have come via stoppage. Previous outings saw him end the undefeated run of Rodolfo Vieira, stop the momentum of Roman Kopylov, and beat veteran Marc-Andre Barriault.
After passing with flying colors through the first main event test of his career, Hernandez asked for an even bigger bout. He now hopes to meet a contender who, if he can beat them, would make him ready for a title shot in the division.
“[The fight was] just what I expected,” a confident Hernandez said in his post-fight interview. “I had no nerves all week. I’ve been telling you guys, I’m ready for the belt. I’m out of my own way. Just give me what it f****** takes. Dana [White], you’ve always gave me tough a** fights. Give me someone that’s gonna give me a title shot, I’m f***** ready, I’ll prove it to you.”
Pereira had a run of eight consecutive wins brought to a halt on Saturday night. His lengthy series of victories broke him into UFC’s middleweight rankings and earned him five “Performance of the Night” bonuses along the way. After suffering his first setback in nearly five years, Pereira is back to the drawing board.
Earlier in the night, Rob Font ended his losing streak against bantamweight contenders with a unanimous decision win over Kyler Phillips. Font had lost four of his last five, although all of his defeats came against either former champs or recent title challengers.
Here are the quick results from Saturday’s UFC card:
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 4:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 11: Anthony Hernandez def. Michel Pereira via TKO, Strikes (RD 5, 2:22)
Bout 10: Rob Font def. Kyler Phillips via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Charles Johnson def. Sumudaerji via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Cameron Smotherman def. Jake Hadley via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Darren Elkins def. Daniel Pineda via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 1:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 6: Asu Almabayev def. Matheus Nicolau via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Jean Matsumoto def. Brad Katona via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Joselyne Edwards vs. Tamires Vidal via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 4:33)
Bout 3: Elise Reed def. Jessica Penne via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Melissa Martinez def. Alice Ardelean via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Austen Lane def. Robelis Despaigne via Decision, Unanimous
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