Anthony Hernandez weathered an early flurry of attacks at UFC Vegas 99 on Saturday in Las Vegas, ultimately earning a one-sided fifth-round TKO victory over Michel Pereira. The hot middleweight contender stopped Pereira with an elbow at the 2:22 mark of the fifth round in a bout that could have been stopped sooner as Pereira ran out of gas after the opening frame.
Seconds into the main event of UFC Vegas 99, Pereira hurt Hernandez with a front kick to the liver, then continued with a flurry of punches and knees as Hernandez lay injured against the cage. Hernandez recovered and set the tone for the rest of the fight with a takedown into side control and a strong ground attack. Pereira was gored in the eye early in the second round and locked Hernandez in a guillotine choke after the restart. Hernandez escaped, scored with elbows and punches from the top, and threatened an arm triangle choke. Pereira managed to escape Hernandez’s choke, but Hernandez punished Pereira with punches and elbows as Pereira’s gas tank was nearing empty.
The third and fourth rounds were almost completely controlled by Hernandez on the ground as Pereira once again struggled to do anything but survive. Hernandez was unable to finish with an arm triangle choke in the third round due to the cage walls, and with referee Herb Dean watching closely, Hernandez instead landed punches and elbows on the Brazilian. He kept hitting the enemy. In the fifth round, Pereira’s corner begged him to land just one big strike. He was unable to do so and Hernandez scored another takedown. He slashed Pereira above his right eye with an elbow and continued to hit Pereira with more elbows until Dean stopped the match. Hernandez is currently on a six-fight winning streak, five of which came by stoppage, and after tonight’s dominant performance, he appears to be on track to face a title contender in his next fight.
Font Outbox Phillips
In the bantamweight co-main event, Rob Font (21-8, 11-7 UFC) bounced back after a rough first round against Kyler Phillips (12-3, 6-2 UFC). He won a unanimous decision with a score of 29. 3 times – 28. Phillips dominated the opening frame on the mat after knocking Font down to side control and hitting a hard elbow from the top. Font eventually got back to his feet and the fighters traded punches before the end of the round. After getting short takedowns from Phillips early in the second and third rounds, Font quickly got back to his feet in both rounds and controlled most of the final 10 minutes on his feet. Phillips continued to defend and retreat as Font chased him with hooks to the head and body. Phillips briefly succeeded in the third round with two calf kicks that kept Font off balance, but Font continued to advance, landing a jab and a right hand late in the fight. With this win, Font ended a two-fight losing streak. Font has struggled with inconsistency since losing to Jose Aldo in the main event nearly three years ago, ending his impressive winning streak at four fights.
Johnson wins wild scrap over Mudaerji
Charles Johnson (17-6, 6-4 UFC) ends his winning streak with a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Sue Mudaerji (16-7, 3-4 UFC) Extended to 4. Featured flyweight action. Johnson came forward with punches early in the fight, and Mudaelji responded with a kick to the lead leg. He stuffed Johnson’s takedown attempt and landed a hard elbow on the break. Both men scored with power punches in the final seconds of the round. Mudaerji controlled his striking in the second stanza with a jab, a front kick to the body and a right hook. However, Johnson landed a powerful right uppercut and sent Mudazi into the cage with the second shot. He tried to finish Mudaerji with punches on the ground, but Mudaerji recovered and locked Johnson in a triangle choke at the last moment. The fighters traded overhand lefts in the third round, and Mudaerji again targeted Johnson’s right leg with a kick. Johnson reversed the takedown and Mudaelji pinned him with a bravo choke. The fight ended with both men trading punches, and all three judges narrowly sided with Johnson.
Smotherman suddenly defeats Hadley
Coming in on short notice and at a huge disadvantage, Cameron Smotherman (12-4, 1-0 UFC) overcame the odds and took a brutal blow to the eye in the second round to defeat Jake Hadley (11). (4 wins, 4 losses, 3 wins, 4 losses UFC)). ) won by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27) in the bantamweight division. Smotherman ramped up the action in the first round, effectively mixing punches to Hadley’s head and body, forcing Hadley to pivot to the left. Hadley landed three punches in quick succession, but Smotherman continued to protect him, and Hadley’s hit rate was much higher. In the second round, Smotherman was first kicked in the groin and then poked in the right eye. A second foul resulted in a timeout lasting more than four minutes, during which Hadley was down by one point, but Smotherman was able to defend Hadley’s takedown attempt in the final moments. Smotherman took control early in the final round, again backing Hadley up with punches and landing three knees to the body. However, Hadley fought back after being kicked in the groin and staggered Smotherman with a left hook late in the fight. Despite Hadley’s late attack, the judges returned a clear verdict in favor of Smotherman, who made an impression in his UFC debut.
Elkins beats Pineda
In the main card opener, Darren Elkins (29-11, 19-10 UFC) defeated fellow veteran Daniel Pineda (28-17, 3 North Carolina) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29) -28, 29-28). ; 5-8, 1 NC UFC) Featherweight. Pineda got off to a good start in the opening round with a spinning back kick to Elkins’ liver and a tight mount guillotine choke. Elkins made a good escape and opened a nasty cut above Pineda’s left eye with an elbow. Pineda tries another guillotine and hits an elbow from the mount. He started the second round with a heavily swollen right eye from the punch he took in the first round, but Elkins kept the pressure on with two takedowns and heavy punches and elbows from mount before the bell. In the final round, after being cleared by doctors to continue, a battered Pineda reversed a takedown and briefly took Elkins’ back. The match returned to the feet, with Pineda taking Elkins down with a leg kick, but Elkins took the top position in Pineda’s guard and stayed there until the final bell, a close but deserved victory.
Qualifying: Almabaev beats Nikolaou, Matsumoto remains undefeated
In a highly anticipated preliminary match, As Almabaev (21-2, 4-0 UFC) defeated Mateusz Nikolaou (19-5-1, 7) in a hard-fought unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) won. -4 UFC) Flyweight. Bantamweight Gene Matsumoto (16-0, 2-0 UFC) defeated two-time TUF champion Brad Katona (14-4, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28; 29-28), keeping his record unblemished. 4 UFC) Great fight. Joselyn Edwards (14-6, 5-4 UFC) entered her bantamweight bout against Tamirez Vidal (7-4, 1-3 UFC) at 3 pounds overweight, but started the fight four times. He won Vidal with a face crank at the minute and 33 second mark. Round 3: Former CFFC champion Elise Reid (8-4, 4-4 UFC) takes on Jessica Penne (14-8, 3-6 UFC) in a strawweight bout by unanimous decision (29-28) , 29-28, 29-28). Melissa Martinez (8-1, 1-1 UFC), who also weighed 115 pounds, defeated Alice Aderen (9-7, 0-2 UFC) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27) , 30-27) for his first UFC victory. ); Austin Lane (13-5, 1 NC; 1-2, 1 NC; UFC) wins unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Robelis Despaignes (5-2, 0- 2 UFC) Heavyweight.
