The day before the official announcement, the Ultimate Fighting Championship made changes to its card at Sphere.
On Friday, MMA Fighting first reported that Michel Pereira (31-11, 2 NC) vs. Anthony Hernandez (12-2, 1 NC) would no longer take place at UFC 306, which has 10 bouts confirmed for Saturday. Instead, for reasons not disclosed at this time, the middleweights will fight in the main attraction of the newly announced UFC Fight Night show a month later on Oct. 19. They are expected to battle five rounds at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “Fluffy” later confirmed the rescheduled booking on his Instagram Story, commenting that it will take place around his birthday on Oct. 18.
The in-form Pereira has won three straight since moving up to the 185-pound division and comes into the bout on an eight-fight winning streak. In his new weight class, the Brazilian has defeated Andre Petroski, Michal Oleksiejczuk and Igor Potieria in a combined time of three minutes and one second. Prior to a string of first-round stoppages, “Demolidor” had needed to win by the judges in four of his five fights, including wins over big names like Santiago Ponzinibbio and Niko Price.
The California native, Hernandez, has won every fight he’s had since 2021, including four stoppages and one decision win over Josh Fremd, including a tapout of Roman Kopylov, a knockout of Edmen Shahbazyan and his first submission loss to ADCC grappling legend Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 258. The man known as “Fluffy” has won 83% of his pro wins inside the distance and has never lost on the scorecards.
