Anthony Hernandez claimed a dominant triumph over Michel Pereira in the middleweight main event of a UFC Fight Night, held at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 20 October 2024.
Hernandez broke multiple UFC records in the course of his triumph, setting new middleweight benchmarks for ground strikes landed (97) and takedowns attempted (29), while setting a personal best for total (219) and significant (152) strikes.
Yet Pereira nearly ended the fight in the first round, landing a front body kick that forced Hernandez into retreat. Pereira followed through with crushing head and body strikes but Hernandez endured and then relied on his cardio to pour on offence through the remainder of the match.
He ultimately forced a stoppage just under two and a half minutes into the final round, with a brutal elbow and ground strikes.
“Oh s***, this motherf***** is strong, strong!" Hernandez said post-fight while reflecting on the strike he took.
The remainder of the main card saw unanimous decision triumphs for Rob Font over Kyler Phillips, and Cameron Smotherman over Jake Hadley (both in the bantamweight division); as well as Charles Johnson over Su Mudaerji in the flyweight category.
Next weekend brings UFC 308 from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on the evening of Saturday 26 October, headlined by a featherweight championship fight between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway.
UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Pereira – Main card results
Main event: Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez def. Michel Pereira via TKO (elbows), R5, 2:22
Bantamweight: Rob Font def. Kyler Phillips via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00
Flyweight: Charles Johnson def. Su Mudaerji via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00
Bantamweight: Cameron Smotherman def. Jake Hadley via unanimous decision (30-26 29-27 29-27), R3, 5:00
Featherweight: Darren Elkins def. Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00