After a grueling 25 minutes at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, Gregory Rodrigues walked away with a unanimous decision win over Anthony Hernandez. The Brazilian won on all judges’ scorecards during the main event of UFC Sacramento.
Hernandez entered the fight ranked No. 6 in the middleweight division, while Rodrigues sat at No. 11.
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Hernandez initiated the grappling early on and put Rodrigues with his back against the fence. The Brazilian fighter defended but couldn’t get away. Rodrigues got away after three minutes and landed some punches to the head of Hernandez. Hernandez kept trying to clinch while walking forward. Rodrigues had a small cut next to his eyebrow, but not much else happened. In the second round, Hernandez started to land more, but Rodrigues didn’t look impressed. The Brazilian chopped up the legs of Hernandez, which led the American fighter to fall to the ground.
Hernandez got back to his feet, but Rodrigues was looking for the finish. Hernandez got down for the third time due to a low kick. Rodrigues went for ground-and-pound, which looked actually convenient for Hernandez, who could barely stand on his feet anymore. Hernandez got back up and got chopped down again. Rodrigues wasn’t able to finish the fight in round two, while Hernandez ended the round strong with an amazing combo and a takedown. Hernandez went directly for the takedown in round three and took the back of Rodrigues. The Brazilian got up after a minute but was very hesitant.
Hernandez Came Back Out Of Nowhere
Hernandez clinched again against the cage and kept the pressure on Rodrigues. A big round for the American who looked close to being done in the second round. Rodrigues was told in between rounds to stop being hesitant. The Brazilian fighter was more active in the fourth round and attacked Hernandez with kicks and punches. Hernandez backed up a little bit and kept looking for takedowns. Rodrigues seemed to have the momentum back that he built up in the second round with solid kicks to the legs again. Hernandez struggled in the fourth round but kept fighting and pressured Rodrigues against the cage again. Not much happened, and it looked like Hernandez needed a finish going into round five.
Hernandez kept doing what he did during the whole fight, clinching Rodrigues against the cage and trying to take him down. The Brazilian’s takedown defense was on point, and he was able to defend Hernandez’s takedown attempts. With two minutes left, Hernandez knew he needed to finish the fight since he wasn’t going to win it on the scorecards. But it was Rodrigues who kicked Hernandez’s leg again. Hernandez went down and had Rodrigues in his guard. The fight went to the judges. Rodrigues won after a very grueling fight via unanimous decision.
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New Weightclass
Reinier de Ridder is back in the win column. The Dutchman moved up a weight class and took on Roman Dolidze in Sacramento. Dolidze, surprisingly, pulled guard at the beginning of the first round. The Georgian fighter went for a leg lock, but de Ridder seemed never in trouble.
The BJJ specialist from the Netherlands turned it around and tagged Dolidze with elbows and punches on the ground. Referee Frank Trigg didn’t want to step in but had no other choice but to stop the fight after De Ridder went into mount and kept punching Dolidze’s face. A good light-heavyweight debut for De Ridder in the UFC.
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Bow Down For Anthony
Former New York Jets Linebacker Anthony Wint has won his UFC debut. The American fighter won his contract only eleven days ago during the Contender Series and already made his official UFC debut tonight against also promotional newcomer Terrance Chatman.
Wint took Chatman down early in the round, but Chatman locked in a Kimura. Wint escaped and put Chatman in an arm-triangle choke. Chatman tried to get to the end of round 1 but was choked out unconscious. A solid win and first-round finish for Wint in his debut.
Absolute Banger
In one of the best fights on the card, Stan Dorsainvil remained undefeated in his professional MMA career. The newcomer took on Gauge Young. Dorsainvil took the fight on short notice as a replacement for Kody Steele. Young was the better fighter in the first round and was able to tag Dorsainvil a couple of times.
Dorsainvil overcame adversity and fought his way back in the fight. Going into the third and final round, it seemed to be even between the two bantamweight fighters. In a close third round, Dorsainvil was able to get the judges on his side and won via unanimous decision. A great win for the newcomer and one of the best fights of the evening.
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Full Results UFC Sacramento
Main Card
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Gregory Rodrigues def. Anthony Hernandez via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47).
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Vitor Petrino def. Serghei Spivac via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
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Reinier de Ridder def. Roman Dolidze via TKO (punches) – R1, 4:01.
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MarQuel Mederos def. Mason Jones via TKO (punches) – R2, 2:07.
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Carli Judice def. Jeisla Chaves via TKO (body kick) – R1, 1:39.
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Anthony Wint def. Terrance Chatman via technical submission (arm triangle choke) – R1, 4:29.
Preliminary Card
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Jamall Emmers def. Lerryan Douglas via TKO (punch) – R1, 3:38.
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Shamil Gaziev def. Kennedy Nzechukwu via KO (punch) – R1, 1:20.
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Chris Padilla def. Nasrat Haqparast via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) – R3, 4:59.
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Márcio Barbosa def. Ryan Kuse via TKO (punch) – R1, 2:47.
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Stan Dorsainvil def. Gauge Young via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
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Jackson McVey def. Wes Schultz via TKO (knee to the body) – R1, 4:13.
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Shanelle Dyer def. Elise Reed via TKO (punches) – R3, 1:42.
Full bonuses were also announced after the fights. (later)
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