UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Pereira
Anthony Hernandez rains down vicious ground and pound onto Edmen Shahbazyan. Credit: Zuffa LLC.
The UFC remains in Las Vegas to host another outstanding Fight Night card from the APEX Center. The card features plenty of excellent fights and is filled with hot prospects, rising stars, and established veterans, all looking to prove themselves on the biggest stage in MMA. In the co-main event, we’ll witness a matchup of top-fifteen Bantamweights when divisional stalwart Rob Font takes on the red-hot Kyler Phillips. In the main event, two excellent scrappers look for their chance to move up the Middleweight ladder when Anthony Hernandez faces off against Michel Pereira. Let’s take a look at the fights on the main card.
Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda
Darren Elkins fires a left hook at TJ Connelly. Credit: Zuffa LLC.
Featherweight Bout
Darren Elkins: 28-11-0, 9 KO/TKO, 6 Sub.
Daniel Pineda: 28-16-0, 9 KO/TKO, 19 Sub.
Elkins has won three of his last five fights and has UFC victories over Michael Johnson (23-19-0), TJ Brown (17-12-0), and Mirsad Bektic (14-3-0). Known as one of the grittiest grapplers in MMA, he uses his toughness and relentless pace to wear down his opponents. He’s landing, on averaging, nearly three takedowns per fifteen minutes and is a relentless wrestler, regularly chaining together takedown attempts. Elkins has heavy top pressure and will constantly look to posture up and land ground and pound. He tends to box on the feet, fighting behind his jab and using his striking to close the distance and set up his grappling. Training at Team Alpha Male, he’s always willing to eat a shot to land one and is easily drawn into a brawl. One of the longest-tenured fighters in the promotion, he holds multiple Featherweight records, including the most unanimous decision wins, takedowns landed, submissions attempted, control time, and top position time.
Daniel Pineda pursues a choke on Tucker Lutz. Credit: MMA Junkie.
Pineda has won one of his last five bouts with one no-contest and has UFC victories over Herbert Burns (11-6-0) and Tucker Lutz (12-4-0). A wild fighter, he has big-time power in his hands and a dangerous submission game. He comes out guns blazing, throwing every shot with power and regularly attempting spinning attacks. Pineda is always coming forward and looking to land bombs, rarely taking any steam off of his shots. He’s averaging nearly two takedowns landed and two submissions attempted per fifteen minutes and is very active in top position. Training at 4oz Fight Club, he’s always dangerous on top and will constantly hunt for his opponent’s neck, with twelve of his nineteen submissions coming via some form of choke. Pineda has finished all 28 of his victories, with seventeen finishes coming in round one, and he’s always dangerous.
Cameron Smotherman vs. Jake Hadley
Bantamweight Bout
Cameron Smotherman prepares inside the cage on Dana White’s Contender Series. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Cameron Smotherman: 11-4-0, 6 KO/TKO, 1 Sub.
Jake Hadley: 11-3-0, 3 KO/TKO, 5 Sub.
Smotherman has won four of his last five outings and is making his UFC debut. He’s a powerful, technical striker who’s always dangerous. He pushes a consistent pace and has excellent cardio, easily carrying his power and speed across three rounds. Smotherman has power in both hands and tends to headhunt, throwing every shot with knockout intentions and never looking just to touch his opponent. He’s most comfortable on the feet but is a competent defensive grappler, possessing solid chokes and is capable of surviving off his back. He can do significant damage without much space, especially with his knees, which he’ll throw regularly. Smotherman has one-shot knockout power and can create a highlight finish at any time.
Jake Hadley uncorks a left hand onto Cody Durden. Credit: MMA Junkie.
Hadley has won three of his last five fights and has UFC victories over Malcolm Gordon (14-8-0), Caolán Loughran (9-2-0), and Carlos Candelario (8-3-0). He’s a well-rounded fighter with fast hands and dangerous submissions. He fights behind his jab and floats along the outside of the cage, always moving while peppering his opponent with shots. Hadley varies his shots well, attacking the head, body, and legs evenly, never telegraphing or loading up. He’s averaging over one submission attempted per fifteen minutes and has excellent sweeps and reversals, often finding himself in top position when the fight hits the mat. Training at Fearless MMA, he can find submissions with impressive speed and is especially dangerous if he can find his opponent’s neck, with all his submissions coming via a form of choke. Hadley can produce quick finishes but also has solid cardio, carrying his power and speed across all three rounds.
Charles Johnson vs. Sumudaerji
Charles Johnson blasts Joshua Van with a brutal uppercut. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Flyweight Bout
Charles Johnson: 16-6-0, 7 KO/TKO, 3 Sub.
Sumudaerji: 16-6-0, 13 KO/TKO, 1 Sub.
Johnson has won three of his last five bouts and has UFC victories over Joshua Van (11-2-0), Azat Maksum (17-1-0), and Jake Hadley (11-3-0). He’s a dangerous striker with solid wrestling and submissions. He always throws in combination, constantly mixing in kicks and evenly spreading his shots across the head, legs, and body. He has excellent footwork, regularly switching stances, and has great head movement, rarely keeping his head on the centerline. Training at Murcielago MMA, Johnson is willing to grapple and is a tenacious wrestler who’s capable of defending takedowns and landing his own. He has never been finished and has an excellent chin, always willing to eat a shot to land one. Johnson tends to improve as the fight continues and has scored 60% of his finishes after round 1.
Sumudaerji tags Malcolm Gordon with a left hook. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Sumudaerji has won three of his last five outings and has UFC victories over Malcolm Gordon (14-8-0), Andre Soukhamthath (14-10-0), and Zarrukh Adashev (4-4-0). He’s a power scrapper with a lethal arsenal of kicks. He’s highly accurate and throws every shot with knockout intentions, typically favoring power to volume. He remains technical throughout, constantly pumping out his jab before unloading heavy kicks. Sumudaerji has excellent distance management but isn’t the most mobile striker, often standing still in front of his opponents while looking to counter-strike. Training at Team Alpha Male, he’s unlikely to initiate grappling exchanges but has solid defensive wrestling and has defended 66% of takedowns attempted on him in the UFC. He carries his power throughout and is always dangerous, but is at his best in a slower, kickboxing-based battle where he can control the center of the Octagon. Sumudaerji always comes out guns blazing, with ten of his thirteen knockouts coming in round one.
#10 Rob Font vs. #12 Kyler Phillips
Rob Font stuns Cody Garbrandt with a damaging right hand. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Bantamweight Bout
Rob Font: 20-8-0, 9 KO/TKO, 4 Sub.
Kyler Phillips: 12-2-0, 5 KO/TKO, 2 Sub.
Font has won one of his last five fights and has UFC victories over Adrian Yanez (17-5-0), Ricky Simon (20-6-0), and Cody Garbrandt (14-6-0). He is a hands-first fighter, preferring to do damage with his crisp boxing skills. Training with New England Cartel, he always fights behind his jab, has excellent footwork, and does a great job cutting off the cage. Font throws everything in combination and has fantastic output, averaging about 88 significant strikes landed in his last five wins. He also has excellent hand speed and solid power, tending to heat up and increase his pace as the fight continues. He’s willing to grapple, and averages just under one takedown landed per fifteen minutes, but is at his best when he’s holding the center of the cage and dictating the pace of the fight. Font never gets too wild or telegraphs his shots, constantly moving and looking for different angles to attack.
Kyler Phillips launches a head kick at Raulian Paiva. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Phillips has won four of his last five bouts and has UFC victories over #8 ranked Bantamweight Song Yadong (21-8-1), Pedro Munhoz (20-9-0), and Raoni Barcelos (18-5-0). He’s an exceptionally fluid striker with an impressive grappling background. He has excellent footwork and is highly elusive, constantly entering and exiting the pocket without absorbing significant damage. Phillips throws everything in combination, regularly mixing in kicks while continually changing levels and attacking at different angles. Averaging over two takedowns landed per fifteen minutes in the UFC, he’s an accomplished grappler, holding a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and state championships in wrestling and Judo. He’s impressively explosive and quick, able to throw heavy or commit to strikes without telegraphing. Phillips has excellent cardio and pushes a heavy pace throughout, landing, on average, about 80 significant strikes in his last five fights.
#13 Anthony Hernandez vs. #14 Michel Pereira
Anthony Hernandez blasts Roman Kopylov with a slicing elbow. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Middleweight Bout
Anthony Hernandez: 12-2-0, 2 KO/TKO, 8 Sub.
Michel Pereira: 31-11-0, 11 KO/TKO, 9 Sub.
Hernandez is on a five-fight win streak and has UFC victories over JunYong Park (18-6-0), Roman Kopylov (13-3-0), and Edmen Shahbazyan (13-5-0). He’s a relentless grappler who’s always working for a finish and gets better as the fight goes on. He throws in combination on the feet and will use his striking to get into the pocket to either pursue a takedown or damage his opponent in the clinch. Hernandez is extremely durable, able to take a beating and still push a consistent pace, and often finds submissions out of seemingly nowhere. Training with MMAGold Fight Team, he has smothering clinch and top control, great takedowns, and extremely dangerous chokes, especially his guillotine. Five of his eight career submission wins are via guillotine, and he often performs his own modified version of the choke. Hernandez is very fluid on the ground and always finds a way to get to a safe position, always choosing position over submission.
Michel Pereira miraculously performs a backflip against Ihor Potieria. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Michel Pereira is on an eight-fight win streak and has UFC victories over Santiago Ponzinibbio (30-8-0), Khaos Williams (15-3-0), and Michael Oleksiejczuk (19-9-0). One of the most unique fighters in the UFC, he’s known for his wild antics within the cage. Training at Overcome Academy, he’s always willing to get wild, throwing open-hand slaps, jumping knees and kicks, and even attempting backflips. Pereira’s unorthodox style makes him both elusive and impossible to predict. He has reigned in his style in recent fights, using a more measured, accurate approach, fighting much more efficiently with improved cardiovascular endurance. He’s averaging over one takedown landed per fifteen minutes, has heavy ground and pound, and a dangerous submission game, particularly chokes. Pereira always pushes a heavy pace and constantly pursues a finish wherever the fight lands.
Best Bets
Hadley vs. Smotherman to Not Go the Distance: In an extremely late-replacement matchup, Smotherman stepped in on just four days' notice to face Hadley. Although he’s making his UFC debut, Smotherman is an excellent prospect who has faced solid competition on the regional scene. He has dangerous power in his hands, is certainly looking to make a statement, and will likely push a heavy pace. Hadley himself is a high-paced fighter, constantly throwing and moving, rarely taking his foot off the gas. Although Hadley is the more well-rounded of the two, Smotherman has the equalizer with his power. I expect both men to meet in the middle and have some wild early exchanges, ultimately leading to someone getting finished.
Charles Johnson Moneyline: These two fighters could not have more opposite career trajectories in the UFC. Johnson had a rough start, losing four of his first six bouts in the promotion before embarking on his current three-fight win streak. Sumudaerji, however, got off to a much better start in the UFC, winning three of his first four outings before ending up on his current two-fight skid of submission losses. Johnson certainly has the momentum advantage going into this fight, but he is also the much more put-together fighter. He’s shown solid grappling both offensively and defensively, great cardio, and impressive durability. Sumudaerji is almost a pure striker, and although he has decent takedown defense, he has struggled severely when put on his back or drawn into brawls. Although Johnson has been content to strike in his recent fights, I expect him to put his superior grappling skills to work in this matchup. While I do expect him to engage on the feet, I also expect him to land multiple takedowns and wear Sumudaerji out en route to another impressive victory.
Anthony Hernandez Moneyline: One of the more surprising fights scheduled recently, this isn’t a matchup many fans expected to see. Both have incredibly different styles, with Pereira being a wild, powerful striker and Hernandez a gritty, tenacious grappler. This matchup seemingly came out of nowhere because of Pereira’s recent opponents, with Hernandez being a significant step up in competition. Although Pereira is about as unpredictable and potent of a striker as possible, Hernandez offers many issues he hasn’t seen much of during his UFC tenure. Hernandez is exceptionally durable, willing to engage anywhere, and has outstanding grappling and submission games, all things Pereira has hardly faced, especially not all put together. I expect Hernandez to survive the wild blitzes of Pereira, smother and slow him down with clinch work and takedowns, and end Pereira’s eight-fight win streak.
