UFC Vegas: Hernandez vs Pereira - Oct 19 🇺🇸

[wandshogun09]

The Apex. A Middleweight headliner. But…it’s actually good?

ESPN MAIN CARD
Anthony Hernandez vs Michel Pereira 

Rob Font vs Kyler Phillips 

Su Mudaerji vs Charles Johnson

Brady Hiestand vs Jake Hadley

Darren Elkins vs Daniel Pineda

Matheus Nicolau vs Asu Almabayev  

ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMS
Brad Katona vs Jean Matsumoto 

Joselyne Edwards vs Tamires Vidal

Jessica Penne vs Elise Reed 

Robelis Despaigne vs Austen Lane 

Alice Ardelean vs Melissa Martinez 

 

 

Some dross on there as usual but I quite like this on the whole. Main event just sounds like all out chaos and with a bunch of lower weight class fights on the undercard, it’s got a bit of a WEC feel to it for me. Not sure if the bout order is correct yet but that’s how Big Marcel has it currently. As always, I’ll edit as and when the 435 pullouts and card shuffles inevitably start.

 

 

Anthony Hernandez vs Michel Pereira then. A Middleweight main event, at the Apex, that’s actually a banger? What’s this madness? This is a fantastic fight. Both on top form, both really entertaining fighters to watch, both aggressive and obviously Pereira’s an absolute lunatic and basically a Tekken character come to life. Can’t go wrong with this. Both have just about cracked into the rankings as well. As I type this, Hernandez is at #13 and Pereira’s ranked #14. Both guys first UFC headliner as well, which is pretty cool. These are exactly the type of matchups that should be showcased over 5 rounds on these Fight Night cards.

Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez turns 31 years old literally the day before this fight and has a record of 12-2-0-1 with 7 of his wins not requiring the judges. He’s been on the UFC roster since 2019 and lost 2 of his first 3 fights to Markus Perez and Kevin Holland. Ever since that Holland loss in 2020 though, he’s been on a bit of a tear. In his last 5 fights he’s gone 5-0 with 4 finishes. Included in that little streak was a shock submission win over multi-time BJJ world champion Rodolfo Vieira, almost slamming Marc-Andre Barriault head first through the canvas before subbing him and a TKO over Edmen Shahbazyan. In February he was matched up with Roman Kopylov in a fight that sounded like a total dogfight on paper but one I expected Kopylov would probably win. I was wrong.

Well it was a good scrap, I got that bit right. But in the end, Hernandez was able to take and soak up everything Kopylov threw at him and strangle him in the second round. Banking himself a POTN bonus in the process. It was a strong win for him. Kopylov had been putting a win streak together himself going in and was starting to build some momentum. Hernandez was having none of it though.

What can you say about Michel Pereira? He’s got a style like nobody else in the UFC. Everything he does just looks a bit off-beat and from unconventional angles. It’s been serving him well. He had a few hiccups early in his UFC run and he got a lot of criticism for his style back then. Mostly stemming from that loss to Tristan Connelly where he seemed to completely gas himself out fucking around and showing off and ended up getting outworked. The fact he had that weird stinker with Diego Sanchez immediately after that didn’t help either. A section of the fanbase never let it go for years and would bring up his flaws for years later. I think people need to let those criticisms go at this point though. He’ll still do some crazy shit in there but he seems to have found a balance now where it compliments his style rather than dominates it. That plus he finally took the plunge and moved up to 185 a few fights ago and he’s looking like a beast these days. He’s now on an 8 fight winning streak and since moving up to 185, he’s finished his last 3 opponents in about a minute apiece, give or take.

That’s what he did to Ihor Potieria last time out on the Brazil PPV in May. Whole thing lasted a whopping 54 seconds and he just made a highlight reel out of it. Before that he’d breezed through Michal Oleksiejczuk in 1:01 and TKO’d Andre Petroski in 1:06. He’s not fucking about. He legitimately might be the most exciting thing the 185 division has at the moment. If he can keep the wins coming, he could be just the shot in the arm the Middleweight title picture needs. I’m getting way ahead of myself but imagine how fun, and funny, a DDP vs Pereira fight could be? The mad thing about Pereira is he’s still only just about to turn 31 and this’ll be his 45th MMA fight. It’s taken him a while but it seems it’s all finally clicked into place for him and he’s still young enough to potentially have a serious run at that Top 10, Top 5 and maybe even UFC gold. I’m not convinced he gets there but at this point, who the fuck knows? This is a division where Sean Strickland became champ after all.

Awesome fight this. And I don’t have a bastard clue how it goes. They have actually both gone 5 rounds before but it was earlier in their careers and pre-UFC. Hernandez has only gone 5 rounds once and he actually beat Brendan Allen on a LFA card back in 2018. While Pereira’s done 5 rounds twice, in 2015 and 2018. It’ll be interesting to see how they approach this one because usually they’re both so attacking and aggressive but they might be a bit more cautious early on here. Still, I think once one of them connects with something the floodgates will open and we might be in for something really wild. Not quite sure what to expect but I’m all for these two getting that main event spotlight and their faces on a poster and all that good stuff. It’s long overdue.

 

Rob Font vs Kyler Phillips is quality. The Bantamweights generally do bring it and I expect no different here. Best division in the game, in my opinion. Font does seem to be on the decline now though. As a 37 year old Bantam, that’s to be expected really. That’s a good innings for a 135er. And to be fair, while he’s lost 4 of his last 5, you look at the level of opposition that beat him - Aldo, Chito, Sandhagen, Figgy - that’s no joke, is it? And to Font’s credit, none of those guys were able to finish him. He did smash up Adrian Yanez right in the middle of that slump and it wasn’t too long ago he was boxing the head off Cody Garbrandt. Also had wins over Ricky Simon and Sergio Pettis. Font’s never been ‘the guy’ but he’s definitely got skills. One of the better boxers in the division and one of the better jabbers on the roster, in my opinion. It feels like the matchmakers might be seeing him as a bit of a spent force here though. This feels like they’re setting him up for the younger guy to take out.

Not sure about the get-up and I wish he didn’t remind me of Russell Brand but Kyler Phillips has been threatening to become a player at 135 for a while now. He’s kind of gone under the radar for whatever reason but he’s ace. He’s 29, so not mega young, but he’s way fresher and hasn’t got the miles and damage on him that Font does. He’s 12-2 with 7 finishes and coming off 3 wins. He absolutely styled on Pedro Munhoz last time out at UFC 299 in March. It was a stacked card with much bigger names and more eye catching fights on it, so I got why there was little discussion about it. But I remember thinking Phillips looked fantastic in that performance. Granted, Munhoz is a bit past his best now but Phillips really put on a clinic. The only thing missing was a finish. Not sure people realise but he also has a win over Song Yadong in 2021. It feels like he’s just waiting for that one signature win or finish that catapults him into the mix. This could be it if he can pull it off. Like I said, the guys that have been beating Font recently are all big names in the division so if Phillips can do the same it puts him in good company. Feels like a bit of a ‘must win’ for Font this. At 37 and 1-4 in his last 5, now they’re throwing him in with a guy they’re clearly trying to build up. Font’s back is against the wall and you’ve gotta think he’s coming in with a point to prove here.

 

Su Mudaerji vs Charles Johnson is ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** this time. Didn’t even know this was booked and it’s a bit of a weird choice of matchmaking timing-wise but I love the actual pairing itself. Johnson seems to be fighting every other week, doesn’t he? I’m exaggerating of course but he’s been very active. This’ll be his 4th fight this year. He’s had a bit of a mad run in the UFC really. He got fed to Muhammad Mokaev in his debut and lost on points but gave a decent enough account of himself. Then he got a couple of wins over Zhalgas Zhumagulov and Jimmy Flick but it got a bit weird after that. He went 0-3 in his next 3 fights and by the end of 2023 it wasn’t looking good for him. I don’t know what changed but 2024 has been a complete 180 turnaround. From an 0-3 slump, he’s gone 3-0 so far this year. He won decisions over Azat Maksum and Jake Hadley in really good fights. Then in July…

He knocked out Joshua Van on the Denver card in another cracking fight. It had been a mega competitive fight before that but Johnson pulled out the KO in the last round. I think most were favouring Van as the young 22 year old prospect. Johnson wasn’t having it. Really become a fan of him. I think he’s only gone a bit under-appreciated because he’s mostly been stuck on Apex cards. He’s back there again here but at least he’s got some momentum behind him now. I said the timing of this matchup was a bit odd and that’s because Su Mudaerji is coming off back-to-back submission losses. Exciting fighter and his war with Matt Schnell in 2022 is a must see if you missed it at the time. But it always feels a bit off when they match a fighter on a win streak against a fighter coming off losses. Regardless though, I can’t see how this can disappoint. Johnson’s looking sharper than ever at the moment and Mudaerji always has that punching power that keeps it interesting. Should be fun.

 

Brady Hiestand vs Jake Hadley will be worth a look. I’ve said a few times that, although a fellow Brummie and someone I’d like to root for, there’s something about Hadley I find annoying and I just can’t warm to him. With that said though, he’s consistently been in entertaining fights. Always worth tuning in for. He just turned 28, has a record of 11-3 and is a former Cage Warriors champion. It’s been a bit of a bumpy road in the UFC though. Even the way he got in through DWCS wasn’t straightforward, with him missing weight and the matchmakers saying he’d been difficult to deal with behind the scenes. He only got a contract because Dana liked him. He’s gone 3-3 since but he’s coming into this fight off a solid win over Caolan Loughran on the Manchester card in July. I remember him looking really good in that one, and he’d stepped in on short notice as well. Can’t remember much about Hiestand though. He’s 25 years old and 8-2 with 6 finishes. He’s actually on a 3 fight win streak in the UFC but it’s been forgettable and he hasn’t been very active. He subbed Garrett Armfield in his last fight in June, for whatever that’s worth.

 

Darren Elkins vs Daniel Pineda is good matchmaking, to be honest. They’re both old and beat up but they’re both tough scrappy guys and if nothing else it’s a fair, even fight at this stage in both their careers. Elkins is 40 years old now and obviously he’s known for bleeding buckets in there. Seriously, you could glance at him sideways and his head would probably start pissing blood. His nickname is ‘The Damage’ for good reason. This’ll be his 40th fight and he found his level a long time ago. He’ll lose to anyone highly ranked but there’s still some fight in the old dog yet. He submitted TJ Brown in a cracking fight last time out. Pineda’s 39 and coming off a loss to Nathaniel Wood on the UFC 304 card in Manchester in July. He took a proper beating in the first two rounds but, fair play to him, he survived it, went the distance and even won the third round! Similarly to Elkins, he’s been all over the shop results-wise but he’s as game as they come. Yeah, both are surely near retirement but I like this matchup actually. Two tough bastards.

 

Matheus Nicolau vs Asu Almabayev sounds like a decent fight on paper. I’m not familiar enough with Almabayev really though. He’s from Kazakhstan, 30 years old and has a solid record, numbers-wise anyway, of 20-2 and 12 finishes. I specify ‘numbers-wise’ because I don’t know a lot of his opposition. He fought in M-1 and Brave a bit before signing with the UFC and he did beat Zach Makovsky in 2022. In the UFC he’s gone 3-0 so far with wins over Ode Osbourne, CJ Vergara and Jose Johnson. He’s ranked #14 at the minute, Nicolau’s currently at #7, so this is a big opportunity for Almabayev to shoot up the Flyweight rankings. Nicolau’s in a tough spot now as well. Not a bad fighter but he’s been brutally finished by Brandon Royval and Alex Perez in his last two fights. Now they’re chucking him in with this relatively unknown guy who’s on a long winning streak?

 

Brad Katona vs Jean Matsumoto is an interesting one actually. Katona’s not had the most amazing career in terms of wins. Looking at his record, the most notable fight on there is his 2019 points loss to Merab Dvalishvili but even that’s hindsight stuff now. Obviously, 2019 Merab isn’t 2024 Merab. Katona’s in his second UFC stint now, 14-3 and is the only fighter to ever win TUF twice. He’s coming off a decision win over Jesse Butler in June. Matsumoto is where the intrigue is here for me.

That’s how his UFC debut ended in April. He submitted Dan Argueta with literally one second to go in the second round. He was having some problems with Argueta’s wrestling for most of the fight but found that guillotine when he needed it most. He’s 15-0 now and just turned 25 years old. Looking forward to seeing how he deals with Katona here. Katona’s not flashy or particularly dynamic but he’s no pushover and he’s not easy to look good against. And despite pulling out the sub, Matsumoto’s debut was shaky enough before the finish that I’m still unsure about him.

 

Joselyne Edwards vs Tamires Vidal. Nothing going on here. Edwards is from Panama, 28 years old and has a 13-6 record. She’s coming off a couple of decision losses to Nora Cornolle and Ailin Perez. Losing to Perez especially isn’t a good look. I see Perez as kind of a barometer in the division. If you’re losing to her, there’s really no hope. Vidal’s Brazilian, 26 years old and 7-3. She’s also coming off back-to-back losses. She actually got stopped in her last fight in May by a punch to the tits from Melissa Gatto.

 

Jessica Penne vs Elise Reed. Nothing to see here. Piss break stuff. Penne’s gonna be 42 in January, she’s 14-7, coming off back-to-back losses and hasn’t fought in about 18 months. We last saw her getting armbarred by Tabatha Ricci on the Jones vs Gane undercard in March 2023. The thing I remember her most for is her getting fed to prime Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2015, and Joanna really fucked her up. She was the Atomweight champ in Invicta and I vaguely recall enjoying the fight with Michelle Waterson when she lost the belt, but we’re going back so far for that. Reed’s 31 years old with a 7-4 record. Her career highlights have been split decision wins over Jasmine Jasudavicius and Cory McKenna but she comes into this fight off a submission loss to Loopy Godinez over a year ago. Yep, piss break.

 

Robelis Despaigne vs Austen Lane is low level stuff but on the plus side it’s unlikely this goes longer than 3 minutes. Despaigne was one of the few Heavyweights to come along in donkeys years who there was actually a little bit of excitement about. An Olympic bronze medalist in Taekwondo, 5-0 in MMA, 6’7” in height, longest reach in UFC history etc. Plus he was knocking fuckers out in seconds. Literally, he had a 4 fight stretch where he’d sparked all 4 opponents in a combined 37 seconds! He was already in his mid 30s but that’s not a disaster at Heavyweight. I don’t think anyone expected him to become UFC champion or anything, there were too many questions on him and he was from a pure striking background and the feeling was always that he probably had no grappling. But there was at least a bit of buzz around him. That all went down the shitter in May though, when he lost a decision to Waldo Cortes Acosta in a dud.

Really disappointing. Like I said, I didn’t have title expectations but I was hoping he’d get a bit further than that kind of level. He’ll still have his moments, of course. There’s so many shite Heavyweights knocking about for him to add to his highlight reel. This should be one of them. Lane’s a former NFL player, 36 years old and 12-5-0-1 in MMA. All I remember is he’s slow and lumbering and he’s been knocked out in his last two fights. Feels like an opponent they’ve specifically handpicked for Despaigne to obliterate but we’ll see. You never really know with the big lads and who knows how Despaigne will respond to that first loss?

 

Alice Ardelean vs Melissa Martinez, same as above, a nothing happening fight. Ardelean’s Romanian but based here in Brum. She’s 32 years old, 9-6 and lost her UFC debut on the Manchester card in July, dropping a split decision to Shauna Bannon. Right there, you know she’s going nowhere. Although in fairness to Ardelean, she did jump in on 2 weeks notice for that one. She also has a loss to Zhang Weili back in 2016. Mexico’s Martinez is 27 years old and 7-1 with 5 finishes. She fought in Combate and was their Strawweight champ before signing with the UFC. She made her Octagon debut at UFC 279 in 2022, lost a decision to Elise Reed and hasn’t been seen since for some reason.

 

 

Back to the Apex we go.

Edited Tuesday at 08:33 PM by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

It's actually pretty surprising its taken Pereira this long to land a main event, well overdue. I still think he has title potential.