Anthony Hernandez beat a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace at his own game to make himself a household name in the middleweight division.
UFC middleweight Anthony Hernandez was a significant underdog entering his UFC 258 showdown with Rodolfo Vieira. If the fight got to the ground, it was thought Vieira would have a field day with Hernandez, but Hernandez put on a performance of a lifetime that solidified himself as a rising star.
Hernandez was in a peculiar spot in the UFC middleweight division entering his UFC 258 with Vieira. After a 39-second knockout loss to Kevin Holland in his previous fight, Hernandez was arguably in a ‘must-win situation’ against Vieira.
Vieira and Hernandez went back-and-forth in their opening round with Hernandez surviving a few dangerous grappling scenarios early on. But in Round 2, Hernandez drowned an exhausted Vieira and submitted the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion with an arm-in guillotine choke.
Anthony Hernandez tapped out Rodolfo Vieira with a broken hand
Remarkably, Hernandez’s won despite a broken right hand.
“I was able to get back to my feet and then on the feet I was going to get his a–, because he’s a grappler,” Hernandez said in a post-fight interview with MMA Junkie Radio. “One of the right hands. I’m pretty sure broke the hand, it just went numb. It was like, ‘S—,’ but it’s a fight, you gotta keep going, it’s a pride thing. I kept throwing, it didn’t look like it was broken but it (expletive) hurt.” (h/t MMA Junkie)
Hernandez’s win over Vieira kicked off what is now a six-fight winning streak in the middleweight division. He’s earned recent wins over Michel Pereira, Roman Kopylov, and Edmen Shahbazyan.
Anthony Hernandez faces a familiar foe in UFC Seattle return
Hernandez will clash with a former LFA rival this Saturday at UFC Seattle. Hernandez and Brendan Allen collide in the UFC Seattle co-main event as both talented contenders look to move up the rankings.
In his sixth career fight, Hernandez defeated Allen by unanimous decision at LFA 32 for the then-vacant LFA middleweight championship. Hernandez earned a UFC contract in his next fight on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018.
A win over Allen this weekend could potentially set Hernandez up for a clash with Israel Adesanya, who he called out following his most recent victory over Pereira. In the meantime, Hernandez is on the cusp of a title shot and is a matchup nightmare for the division’s top contenders.
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