Anthony Hernandez completely dominated Roman Dolidze, then made his case for a shot at the UFC middleweight title.
Anthony Hernandez proved he was a level above Roman Dolidze in the UFC on ESPN 72 main event.
Simply put, the fight was not close.
Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) dominated virtually every moment of the middleweight bout as Dolidze (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) struggled to find any answers offensively. It all came to an end at 2:45 of Round 4 when Hernandez forced a tap from a rear-naked choke.
The fight began with steady striking exchanges as Hernandez controlled the center of the cage. Dolidze took the fight to the fence in the clinch, but was unable to get the fight to the ground. Instead, it would be Hernandez to get a takedown first. He added a second a few moments later after scoring with clean striking. It was a strong opening round for Hernandez both on the feet and on the mat.
The fight quickly turned into a wild brawl in Round 2. Hernandez marched forward through a firefight, talking to a retreating Dolidze. The heated exchanges lasted for a few moments, but the fight returned to the mat for scrambles. Once the fight got back to the feet, Hernandez continued teeing off on Dolidze, who did his best just to survive the round.
Hernandez closed out the final seconds unloading heavy ground and pound through the horn. When referee Herb Dean intervened, Hernandez thought he won the fight and began celebrating with his team. The confusion was cleared up, and the fight continued into Round 3.
“Fluffy” continued to dominate the fight on the mat. Dolidze got away with multiple fence grabs as Hernandez worked through positions. Hernandez did whatever he wanted to do as the time ticked away in a completely one-sided round.
The fight reached Round 4, where Hernandez picked up right where he left off. On the feet and on the ground, Hernandez was in full control. The final sequence occurred after a takedown, where Dolidze grabbed the fence. Dean took a point without interrupting the flow, and Hernandez drilled a few knees to the head and then locked in a rear-naked choke.
The squeeze was incredibly tight, and the tap came quickly.
During his post-fight interview, Hernandez made his case for a middleweight title shot.
“They’ve done a great job of matchmaking me. I want to prove that I can take the title,” Hernandez told Daniel Cormier. “If it has to be a BMF title just to take a contender seat, then run it. I want a belt, I want something. I want to prove that I’m the best in the world.”
With the win in his second UFC main event, Hernandez extends his current winning streak to eight. His current run includes stoppages of Rodolfo Vieira, Marc-Andre Barriault, Edmen Shahbazyan, Roman Kopylov and Michel Pereira. Currently ranked No. 10 by the promotion, “Fluffy” will move into the single digits as he takes one step closer to a shot at the title.
Full UFC on ESPN 72 results
- Anthony Hernandez def. Roman Dolidze via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 4, 2:45
- Steve Erceg def. Ode Osbourne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Iasmin Lucindo def. Angela Hill via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Andre Fili def. Christian Rodriguez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Jean Matsumoto def. Miles Johns via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Christian Leroy Duncan def. Eryk Anders via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:53
- Julius Walker def. Rafael Cerqueira via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Elijah Smith def. Toshiomi Kazama via knockout (slam) – Round 1, 4:10
- Joselyne Edwards def. Priscila Cachoeira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:24
- Uros Medic def. Gilbert Urbina via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:03
- Gabriella Fernandes def. Julija Stoliarenko via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Eric McConico def. Cody Brundage via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
