Anthony Hernandez believed cardio and pace would be the difference against Michel Pereira and while the stoppage may have come later than he expected, his general sentiment proved accurate.
It took him nearly five full rounds, but Hernandez (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) got the job done inside the distance as he finished Pereira (31-12 MMA, 9-3 UFC) with strikes Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 245 main event. The stoppage came at 2:22 of Round 5 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Hernandez repeatedly took down Pereira, landed ground-and-pound and eventually exhausted the Brazilian. Pereira’s defense was almost enough to survive for the entirety of the fight, but almost doesn’t count.
FLUFFY IS RELENTLESS 😤@ILoveBamf delivers a TKO win in his first UFC main event! #UFCVegas99 pic.twitter.com/jIYDmpfFGg
— UFC (@ufc) October 20, 2024
The victory marks Hernandez’s first UFC main event win. The victory was his sixth in a row and his fifth stoppage in that stretch.
Pereira has an eight-fight winning streak snapped. His previous loss was to Diego Sanchez by disqualification in February 2020.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 245 results include:
- Anthony Hernandez def. Michel Pereira via TKO (strikes) – Round 5, 2:22
- Rob Font def. Kyler Phillips via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Charles Johnson def. Su Mudaerji via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Cameron Smotherman def. Jake Hadley via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
- Darren Elkins def. Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Asu Almabayev def. Matheus Nicolau via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jean Matsumoto def. Brad Katona via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Joselyne Edwards def. Tamires Vidal via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:33
- Elise Reed def, Jessica Penne via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Melissa Martinez def. Alice Ardelean via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Austen Lane def. Robelis Despaigne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.
