This past Saturday the premier promotion returned to the confines of the Apex for UFC Vegas 109, headlined by middleweights Anthony Hernandez and Roman Dolidze.
On Saturday, the UFC returned with their latest Fight Night edition from the recently spruced up UFC Apex, with UFC Vegas 109 headlined by Anthony Hernandez and Roman Dolidze.
Both fighters were coming into the fight off the back of impressive performances but it was Hernandez who came out on top after scoring the brutal submission win in the fourth round.
Along with ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez’s impressive performances, there were some other standout performances on the main card, so let’s play matchmaker for the main card winners.
Christian Leroy scored impressive win to continue making his way up 185lb rankings
British middleweight prospect Christian Leroy Duncan opened up the main card in a fight against Eryk Anders.
Anders was coming off the back of what is potentially the biggest win of his career against Chris Weidman, while Duncan was also entering the cage off the back of a win over Andrey Pulyaev.
Despite ‘Ya Boi’ Anders having the huge experience advantage, Duncan went on to score his most impressive win to date after folding Anders with a spinning back elbow and subsequent ground-and-pound, which caused a horror injury for Anders.
Following such an impressive win, ‘CLD’ will be hopeful of earning an opportunity against a decent named opponent next.
A fight against someone like Rodolfo Vieira could make sense for the Brit next, in what would be a typical striker vs grappler matchup.
Christian Leroy Duncan’s next fight: Rodolfo Vieira
Jean Matsumoto returns to the win column with a closely contested win
After such an impressive win on Dana White’s Contender Series, Jean Matsumoto came into the UFC in 2024 as a hot prospect to look out for.
The 25-year-old went on to pick up two extremely impressive wins not long after, earning himself a huge fight against Rob Font. The level up in competition proved a little too much for the Brazilian this early in his career and he was handed his first professional loss.
Despite that, he rebounded with a close split decision win against Miles Johns this past Saturday, once again showing his potential in the bantamweight division.
Although he is definitely a prospect to look out for, it would be silly for the UFC to match him up against an extremely high level bantamweight again, and they should look at building him up properly.
Someone who recently picked up a win who could make sense next for Matsumoto, is the experienced Davey Grant. Although Grant is dangerous, like his nickname suggests, it would be good experience for Matsumoto to fight someone who is considered a veteran of the sport.
Jean Matsumoto’s next fight: Davey Grant
Andre Fili’s win/loss pattern continues as he picks up rebound win
Andre Fili is a fighter who struggles to gain momentum in the UFC, constantly winning one and then losing one.
And this past Saturday, that pattern continued when he returned to the win column by beating Christian Rodriguez.
At this point in his career, ‘Touchy’ Fili likely knows himself that he isn’t going to be a title challenger or even a top 10 fighter, however, he will always be one of the most exciting featherweights to watch throw down.
A fight between Fili and Nate ‘The Train’ Landwehr would be one of the most exciting fights the UFC could put together, and would surely get fans out of their seats.
Andre Fili’s next fight: Nate Landwehr
Iasmin Lucindo picks up huge win against Angela Hill to rise in the rankings
Iasmin Lucindo is one of the youngest fighters on the roster, and at UFC Vegas 109, she beat one of the most experienced veterans on the roster in Angela Hill.
Lucindo has shown some extremely impressive moments of promise throughout her UFC tenure so far, and is still widely regarded as a potential future title contender in the strawweight division.
Now ranked inside the top 10 of the division, another couple of wins will firmly put her in the title conversation, however, her next fight will likely come against a very tough contender.
With the UFC set to return to Brazil in October, an all Brazilian affair against Mackenzie Dern could make sense for Lucindo next as she continues to rise up the division.
Iasmin Lucindo’s next fight: Mackenzie Dern
Steve Erceg snaps three fight losing streak with huge win
Coming into UFC Vegas 109, ‘Astroboy’ Steve Erceg admitted that he thought he was fighting for his UFC job, which he took a lot of pleasure from.
After suffering an early knockdown, Erceg fought well to come from behind and score the unanimous decision win over Ode Osbourne, snapping his three fight losing skid.
Having given Alexandre Pantoja such a good fight when he controversially fought him for the title, his following performances seemed out of character.
The Australian is still ranked in the top 10 at flyweight, and after bouncing back with a win, he will likely fight a ranked opponent again next.
Erceg was scheduled to fight Alex Perez and that is a fight that should be rebooked next.
Steve Erceg’s next fight: Alex Perez
Anthony Hernandez firmly adds himself to the title conversation
‘Fluffy’ Hernandez’s win over Dolidze has really put him near the middleweight title conversation, especially with Dricus du Plessis set to defend his strap next week against Khamzat Chimaev.
Following his win over Dolidze, Hernandez called for the next middleweight title shot, but also stated that if he isn’t afforded that, he would like to fight Reinier De Ridder.
That is a fight that would make perfect sense for both fighters, with them both likely needing another win before they’re given a title opportunity.
Anthony Hernandez’s next fight: Reinier De Ridder