Things do not get much more dominant than this UFC Vegas 109 display.
The middleweight division has a new championship contender, and his name is Anthony Hernandez. Just a week before Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev’s title fight at UFC 319, ‘Fluffy’ made a statement in his second main event at the Apex.
Hernandez caught Du Plessis’ eye by submitting Roman Dolidze in round four, but the finish was far from the American’s first piece of success in a fight that netted him an additional $50,000 in ‘Performance of the Night’ cash.
He frankly beat the Georgian contender from pillar to post, and the insanely one-sided stats sheet proves as much…
Anthony Hernandez out-struck Roman Dolidze 120-39 at UFC Vegas 109
Hernandez entered the UFC Vegas 109 main event riding a seven-fight win streak, forged by his relentless pressure, strong cardio, and well-rounded skillset. All three facets were on full display Saturday night, and Dolidze was the latest to fall victim to them.
The writing was on the wall early, as Hernandez hurt ‘The Caucasian’ with powerful hooks and elbows in round one. And his pressure continued in the subsequent rounds, with ‘Fluffy’ soon walking Dolidze down and throwing absolute bombs.
There was little doubt over who was on top in the stand-up department, reflected in the final striking numbers. Per UFC Stats, Hernandez out-struck Dolidze massively, connecting with 120 shots compared to the Georgian’s measly 39.
With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that the pair had drastically different significant striking success rates. While Hernandez connected with an impressive 59 percent, Dolidze landed at a rate of just 33 percent.
Of Hernandez’s 91 significant strikes, 61 went to the head of Dolidze. The traffic was so one-way that some on social media even suggested coach Eric Nicksick should have been looking to throw in the towel.
- LATEST UFC NEWS: Jon Jones’ coach claims debuting UFC 319 star is better than the GOAT in one aspect
Anthony Hernandez landed 9 of 11 takedowns for 7:48 minutes of control time
It was far from just the stats on the feet that Hernandez dominated. The well-rounded fan favorite also imposed his will on Dolidze on the ground.
‘Fluffy’ had no issue dragging the Georgian down, succeeding in nine of his 11 takedown attempts. And Hernandez made good use of those, accumulating a mammoth seven minutes and 48 seconds of control time, during which he landed 30 of 32 ground-and-pound strikes thrown.
It was ultimately the grappling that brought about the finish, with Hernandez following up some vicious knees against the fence by ragdolling Dolidze into a gruesomely tight rear-naked choke in the fourth frame.
The move forced an instant tap and brought a rough night at the office to an end for ‘The Caucasian’, who had his three-fight winning run snapped inside the Apex.
Hernandez, meanwhile, has now won eight on the bounce, leaving many calling for him to challenge the winner of Du Plessis vs. Chimaev down the line.