Tomorrow night in the main event of UFC Vegas 109, we are going to see a middleweight matchup between two top ten contenders. Anthony Hernandez (14-2, 1 NC) will look to keep his impressive win streak alive as he takes on grappling expert Roman Dolidze (15-3).
Starting with Hernandez, the former LFA champion made his octagon debut back in 2019. Hernandez entered the UFC undefeated but he went just 1-2 in his first three bouts. However, since then, he’s been perfect going 7-0. In his last fight, he had a rematch with Brendan Allen and for the second time in his career, Hernandez got the win. Now, he’ll take on Roman Dolidze.
Dolidze made his UFC debut back in 2020 when he was a perfect 6-0. He started out 6-1 in seven fights which got him near the very top of the division. However, back-to-back losses set him back a bit. He’s bounced back nicely winning three in a row since then including avenging a loss to Marvin Vettori in his last fight back in March.
UFC Vegas 109 Prediction
Anthony Hernandez has been the superior grappler throughout his winning streak. When the fight starts tomorrow night, he’s not going to be the superior grappler. Roman Dolidze is a very decorated grappler and he thrives on the ground. I think these two will largely cancel each other out on the ground, but early on, I’d favor Dolidze at UFC Vegas 109.
If this fight was three rounds, I’d look strongly at picking Dolidze, but there’s a major thing that is giving me pause. That is the incredible cardio of Anthony Hernandez. “Fluffy” has some of the best cardio I’ve ever seen at 185 and I think that’s really going to play over the course of five rounds tomorrow night.
On the feet, I expect a lot of volume and pressure from Hernandez. Dolidze might get the better of grappling exchanges early which might net him a round or two, but as the fight goes on, I think you’ll see Hernandez take over. I think this is a close fight, but I think Hernandez completely takes over during the championship rounds and will ultimately walk away with his hand raised at UFC Vegas 109.
Prediction: Anthony Hernandez by Decision
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