August is shaping as much as be a large month for the middleweight division.
Prime-10 contenders Roman Dolidze and Anthony Hernandez are within the highlight this weekend because the UFC stays on the Apex in Las Vegas for a second consecutive weekend of Battle Evening motion.
Dolidze is the No. 9-ranked athlete at 185 kilos however enters Saturday’s card as greater than a two-to-one underdog towards Hernandez, who sits one spot behind him at No. 10 within the weight class.
Each fighters are driving spectacular profitable streaks and trying to stay related to the title image with present champion Dricus Du Plessis set to defend his title subsequent weekend at UFC 319 towards undefeated challenger Khamzat Chimaev.
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Middleweights Roman Dolidze and Anthony Hernandez headline the motion on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Watch UFC Battle Evening on Saturday, Aug. 9 on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+ with protection starting at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.
Du Plessis is 9-0 within the UFC and Chimaev is 8-0, with Hernandez’s lively scorching streak not far off these streaks. Hernandez is on a dominant seven-fight run with 5 of these wins coming by stoppage and he hasn’t misplaced in additional than 5 years as he enters his prime preventing years.
The 31-year-old from California has turn out to be identified for his relentless tempo and stress and is coming off a win over Brendan Allen in February.
In the meantime, Dolidze has bounced again from a majority choice loss to No. 1-ranked contender Nassourdine Imavov early in 2024 with three consecutive wins.
The 37-year-old from Batumi, Georgia, defeated Anthony Smith final June in a light-heavyweight matchup, then later that 12 months earned a technical knockout win over Kevin Holland — the final particular person to get a win over Hernandez — and commenced his 2025 marketing campaign with a five-round unanimous choice win over Marvin Vettori in a March Battle Evening important occasion.
Stylistically, this weekend’s headliner might be formed by whether or not Hernandez can get this struggle to the bottom.
Hernandez leads all lively middleweights in whole takedowns with 45 over his 10 UFC appearances, averaging 6.27 takedowns per quarter-hour of cage time, and as soon as he’s on the bottom he will get to work.
You gained’t hear anybody describe Hernandez because the lay-and-pray kind, although, since Hernandez is lively with ground-and-pound and leads all UFC middleweights by averaging 1.96 submission makes an attempt per quarter-hour.
Dolidze is a bodily sturdy middleweight with a grappling base and has by no means been completed in his 18-fight skilled profession. Nonetheless, he solely defends one-third of takedown makes an attempt towards him within the UFC.
“I feel he has confronted some good opponents however he by no means confronted any person with grappling like me,” Dolidze stated Wednesday on the official Battle Evening media availability on the UFC Apex. “Everyone knows that he has good cardio and he likes to be on the bottom and management folks there, however I’m very lively on the bottom. I don’t give relaxation to no person.”
Dolidze absorbs roughly one vital strike for every one he lands (3.58 landed vs 3.56 absorbed per quarter-hour), whereas Hernandez lands 4.50 and eats solely 2.61, plus he connects at a way more environment friendly charge (63 per cent in comparison with simply 42 per cent for Dolidze).
This isn’t the primary time these two have been scheduled to face one another. They had been initially supposed to satisfy at UFC 302 final June however the bout was cancelled when Hernandez needed to withdraw with a hand harm.
“He’s fairly much like the best way he’s at all times fought,” Hernandez stated of Dolidze. “He’ll (expletive) throw bombs, if that doesn’t work, he’ll drop and throw Hail Mary heel hooks. I feel we obtained him discovered. We obtained numerous massive guys for this struggle camp, numerous sturdy guys. My workforce has achieved every part, achieved all of the analysis, all of the homework. They make it quite simple for my dumbass to simply go on the market and struggle.”
The winner of Saturday’s important occasion gained’t be positioned for the subsequent title shot, however they may transfer one step nearer to rivalry and will probably be in line for one more marquee matchup.
Imavov and Caio Borralho meet in September in a de facto title eliminator; Reinier De Ridder lately shot up the rankings due to his July win over former champ Robert Whittaker; previous titleholders Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya stay ranked within the prime 5; UFC 319 additionally options former title challenger Jared Cannonier dealing with Michael “Venom” Web page in a middleweight contest, plus Paulo Costa turned again the clock along with his win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 a couple of weeks in the past.
Hernandez was requested for his ideas on the upcoming title matchup and is siding with the reigning champ, who, regardless of holding the belt, is the listed underdog.
“I feel Du Plessis’s going to shock lots of people as a result of he’s a troublesome, awkward (expletive) and Khamzat’s fought numerous small guys and last-minute (opponents),” Hernandez defined. “He’s sort of a weight bully, so I’m sort of not bought on him. He’s sort of a (expletive), so I most likely simply don’t like him. … I feel Du Plessis goes to indicate the world. Like, he’s robust, he retains coming ahead. I’m curious to see what (Chimaev) can do with a man that’s really well-rounded.”
Beneath is the projected bout order for Saturday’s 12-bout card:
— Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez
— Steve Erceg vs. Ode’ Osbourne
— Iasmin Lucindo vs. Angela Hill
— Andre Fili vs. Christian Rodriguez
— Miles Johns vs. Jean Matsumoto
— Eryk Anders vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
— Julius Walker vs. Raffael Cerqueira
— Elijah Smith vs. Toshiomi Kazama
— Joselyne Edwards vs. Priscila Cachoeira
— Uros Medic vs. Gilbert Urbina
— Gabriella Fernandes vs. Julija Stoliarenko
— Cody Brundage vs. Eric Moicano
