|
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs Hernandez
Setting The Table For Saturday’s Second Consecutive Stop At The UFC APEX
By E. Spencer Kyte
Before the Octagon travels to the Windy City next weekend for UFC 319, the UFC APEX once again plays host to the action on Saturday, as a card headlined by an intriguing middleweight pairing rolls into the building and onto the ESPN airwaves.
With a mix of established names and prospects alike scattered throughout the fight card and all building to a compelling matchup between Roman Dolidze and Anthony Hernandez to close things out, this weekend’s lineup feels like one of those “caught you by surprise” cards that leaves everyone smiling when it’s all said and done.
Here’s a closer look at what’s on tap.
Middleweight Main Event: Roman Dolidze vs Anthony Hernandez
Streaking middleweights looking to keep progressing up the divisional ranks clash in Saturday’s finale as Roman Dolidze and Anthony Hernandez step in against one another.
A winner of three straight across two divisions, Dolidze claimed a measure of revenge and a unanimous decision win last time out against Marvin Vettori, advancing to 15-3 overall in the process. The rugged Georgian has excellent size and physicality for the division and a high-level ground game that he doesn’t lean on all that often, preferring instead to stand in and sling leather, which has resulted in six wins in nine appearances since moving to the middleweight division.
Hernandez is tied with Caio Borralho for the third-longest winning streak in the division at the moment, with the duo only trailing next weekend’s championship pairing of Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, who have won nine and eight consecutive fights respectively. The 31-year-old extended his run of success to seven in February with a grinding, well-earned win over Brendan Allen in Seattle, and continues to show improvements and adjustments each time out.
There was a problem while loading content. Please try again.
Middleweight has become one of the more fascinating divisions in the UFC over the last year and change, as new names have begun rising towards the top of the weight class while more established talents slip back. Both Dolidze and Hernandez are very much on the ascent, and a strong outing from either of them here would put the victor in a position to face an entrenched competitor next time out.
Additional Main Card Matchups
Steve Erceg vs Ode’ Osbourne
Flyweights occupy the penultimate slot on Saturday’s fight card, as former title challenger Steve Erceg faces off with divisional mainstay Ode’ Osbourne.
Originally scheduled to face HyunSung Park before the South Korean was called up to compete in last weekend’s main event against Tatsuro Taira, “Astroboy” returns to Las Vegas looking to register his first win since the last time he competed in the APEX in early 2024. The Australian has dropped three straight contests in bouts with the current champ, the most recent title challenger, and a former two-time champ, so it’s difficult to fault him too much for those setbacks, however a return to the win column is much needed, even if just as a reminder of how rock-solid Erceg is inside the Octagon.
The 33-year-old Osbourne jumped at the opportunity to fill the void opposite Erceg this weekend, eager to build on his April stoppage win over newcomer Luis Gurule. The victory halted a three-fight slide for “The Jamaican Sensation,” who has fought a solid strength of schedule throughout his five-plus year career in the UFC.
There’s a little “crossroads” moment happening here for Erceg, who rocketed to a championship opportunity on the strength of three wins in 12 months, capped by a punishing knockout of Matt Schnell, but now he returns to the scene of that victory in a bit of a slide. Osbourne is quick, creative, and kind of playing with house money heading into this one, so it will be interesting to see how Erceg acquits himself here.
Iasmin Lucindo vs Angela Hill
Iasmin Lucindo and Angela Hill meet in this “prospect versus veteran” clash of ranked strawweights.
There was a problem while loading content. Please try again.
Though she’s already six fights into her UFC career and stationed at No. 8 in the divisional rankings, Lucidno is still just 23 years old, which highlights the upside the Brazilian continues to carry into each appearance inside the Octagon. She had her four-fight winning streak halted by compatriot Amanda Lemos last time out, but can get things moving in the right direction by dispatching the tenured TUF alum on Saturday.
Outside of perhaps Neil Magny, no fighter on the roster is more familiar with this type of matchup than Hill, who has consistently been paired off with young talents and asked to serve as the measuring stick for them throughout her career. To her credit, she’s thrived in this role as of late, entering with a 3-1 mark over her last four, which includes wins over Denise Gomes, Luana Pinheiro, and Ketlen Souza.
Andre Fili vs Christian Rodriguez
Andre Fili and Christian Rodriguez face off in this featherweight matchup that feels destined to produce a ton of excitement for as long as it lasts.
Fighting for the first time since becoming a father, Fili looks to rebound from a frustrating loss to Melquizael Costa earlier this year in Seattle. The longtime Team Alpha MMA representative has settled into a tenured veteran role in the Second 15 of the 145-pound ranks, and will look to lean on his complete skill set and significant edge in experience in this one.
Over the course of his UFC career, Rodriguez has thrived against inexperienced foes and stumbled against more seasoned competition, as each of his last three wins have come against unbeaten prospects, while his last two defeats have come against Costa and Julian Erosa.
With both men coming off a loss to the same opponent — who has since gone on to add a win over Erosa to his resume as well, just to tie together all the names mentioned here — it wouldn’t be surprising to see Fili and Rodriguez hit the Octagon with a little more urgency than in previous outings. The competition is always steep in the featherweight division, and at this point of their careers, a two-fight skid could set them further back than they would like.
Miles Johns vs Jean Matsumoto
Bantamweights Miles Johns and Jean Matsumoto share the Octagon in an intriguing main card clash of Dana White’s Contender Series grads this weekend.
Johns, who earned his contract on Season 3 of the annual talent search series, comes in looking to get back into the win column after dropping a decision to Felipe Lima in a featherweight pairing last December. Unbeaten in his last four bantamweight assignments and sporting a 5-1 record with one no contest over his previous seven in the 135-pound ranks, the 31-year-old has frequently flashed upside, but has yet to put together the performances that really elevate his standing in the ultra-competitive division.
A member of the DWCS Class of ’23, Matsumoto also arrives back in Vegas off a setback last time out, having landed on the unhappy side of a split decision verdict in a short notice fight with Rob Font back in February. It was the first loss of the young Brazilian’s career, which adds another wrinkle to the dynamics at play in this one.
This one is bound to have a significant impact no matter how it shakes out, as Johns can cement his place in the division and position himself for an even greater opportunity by turning back the highly regarded prospect, while Matsumoto can show he’s still someone to keep close tabs on by immediately returning to the win column and doing so by getting the better of a seasoned foe like Johns. Regardless of who emerges victorious, this one should be entertaining from start to finish.
Eryk Anders vs Christian Leroy Duncan
Middleweights open the main card as well as closing it on Saturday, as veteran Eryk Anders takes on Christian Leroy Duncan.
Anders heads into his 2025 debut on a two-fight winning streak having followed up his decision win over Jamie Pickett last March with a second-round stoppage win over Chris Weidman in the former champion’s final bout last December. Though he’s acknowledged he’s nearing the end of his career, the 38-year-old veteran has looked solid as of late, posting wins in three of his last four, and should be a stern test for the Brit here.
Duncan hit the UFC with a ton of hype following an unbeaten run that culminated with consecutive finishes in Cage Warriors championship fights. It’s been hit-or-miss for “CLD” since, as he’s gone 4-2 in six trips into the Octagon, most recently having picked up a decision win over DWCS grad Andrey Pulyaev in London in March.
Preliminary Card Pairings
Julius Walker vs Rafael Cerquiera
Light heavyweights that landed on the wrong side of things on the same card earlier this year square off here as Julius Walker returns to face Rafael Cerquiera.
Walker was drafted into a short notice fight with Alonzo Menifield in February, giving a solid account of himself and earning a Fight of the Night bonus while suffering the first loss of his professional career. Earlier that evening, Cerquiera stood in with Modestas Bukauskas, lasting just over two minutes before being felled by “The Baltic Gladiator.”
Elijah Smith vs Toshiomi Kazama
Elijah Smith and Toshiomi Kazama share the Octagon in this meeting of bantamweight graduates of UFC talent search shows.
One of a host of promising talents to graduate from Dana White’s Contender Series last season, Smith earned a unanimous decision win over Vince Morales in his promotional debut earlier this year. A finalist on the first season of Road to UFC, Kazama rebounded from a loss against Garrett Armfield with a come-from-behind finish of Charalampos Grigoriou last time out.
Joselyne Edwards vs Priscila Cachoeira
Tenured talents Joselyne Edwards and Priscila Cachoeira collide in this battle of bantamweights looking to add to their recent run of quality results.
Now in her fifth year on the roster, the Las Vegas-based Edwards arrives at the UFC APEX having earned back-to-back stoppage wins and victories in five of her last seven overall to advance to 15-6 for her career. Cachoeira got things moving in the right direction earlier this year with a thudding knockout win over compatriot Josiane Nunes in her official return to the 135-pound weight class.
Uros Medic vs Gilbert Urbina
It’s a battle of finishers in the welterweight division as Uros Medic and Gilbert Urbina share the Octagon early in Saturday’s slate.
Medic is a “kill or be killed” fighter to the core, having never gone the distance in 13 pro fights, including each of his first six UFC outings, while more than half of Urbina’s 10 appearances have ended inside the distance. Both are coming off knockout losses in their most recent outings, so expect them each to be hunting for a stoppage of their own as they return to action against one another here.
Gabriella Fernandes vs Julija Stoliarenko
Flyweights Gabriella Fernandes and Julija Stoliarenko kick off this weekend’s festivities at the UFC APEX.
After dropping decisions in each of her first two appearances inside the Octagon, Fernandes has rebounded with consecutive wins, most recently registering a second-round technical submission finish over Wang Cong, who has since registered a pair of wins to climb into the rankings. The former Invicta FC bantamweight champ Stoliarenko fights for the first time since early last year when she was stopped by Luana Carolina in what was her second start in the flyweight division.
Corrected the original article that had included the text:
"Much like Magny, Zaleski dos Santos has struggled to find routine positive results of late, entering with a 1-2-1 record over his last four and a 4-4-1 mark through his last nine appearances. Last time out, the Brazilian was felled by Chidi Njokuani, marking just the second time in his UFC career that he’s been stopped.
Which of these two stalwarts will right the ship and who will be left still looking for answers?"
A remnant of last weeks article that Mr. Kyle probably missed to remove when he edited his article.
_________________
So you wanna be a [bleeping] member? => Get access to the community <=
Looking for a seedbox? RuTorrent, qbitTorrent, Deluge and Transmission included in all packages! Unlimited torrents, unlimited transfers!
Perfect for both beginners and professionals. Watch the files directly in your browser without downloading or download to your device, up to you!
Really Fast 1 Gbit seedboxes - Professional support 24/7/365 - Click to learn more
To get a recurring 10% discount on all seedbox packages use the PROMO CODE: mmatorrents
|
UFC on ESPN 71 - Taira vs. Park
