[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] believed cardio and pace would be the difference against [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag] 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 đ¤@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) â 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) â 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.