The UFC was in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, August 9, for UFC Vegas 109. The main event saw middleweight contenders throw down as Anthony Hernandez took on Roman Dolidze.
Entering the fight, Hernandez was riding a seven-fight winning streak, while Dolidze was on a three-fight winning streak and was coming off a win over Marvin Vettori.
Ultimately, it was Hernandez who dominated Dolidze en route to a fourth-round submission win to extend his win streak to eight. Following UFC Vegas 109, here is what I think should be next for the middleweight contenders.
Anthony Hernandez
Anthony Hernandez has been considered the dark horse in the middleweight division for quite some time, but this fight likely was his breakthrough performance. Hernandez was headlining his second card, and he dominated a tough top-10 guy in Roman Dolidze and finished him.
Following the win, Hernandez is now in the top 10 and should get a top-ranked opponent next, as he likely is a win or two away from a title shot. A logical next fight is to face the loser of the Nassourdine Imavov vs Caio Borralho fight, which headlines UFC Paris next month. If Hernandez wins, he’d likely get a No. 1 contender fight next time out.
Roman Dolidze
Roman Dolidze had a chance to really break through and be a true middleweight title contender at UFC Vegas 109. However, Dolidze was dominated en route to a submission loss to Anthony Hernandez, which snapped his three-fight losing streak.
However, Dolidze is still a top-10 middleweight contender, but will likely need to fight behind him next time out. A logical match-up is against Paulo Costa, who’s coming off a decision win over Roman Kopylov. Costa should get a top-10 opponent next time out. So, a Fight Night main event against Dolidze makes sense, as the winner would be right back near title contention. Dolidze, meanwhile, would have to fight behind him after the loss to Hernandez.
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Topics:
Anthony Hernandez
Roman Dolidze
UFC
