Anthony Hernandez's first UFC main event showcased the best attributes of his game in his biggest win to date.
The recently turned 31-year old faced off with Brazil's Michel Pereira in the headliner for UFC Vegas 99 this past weekend at the Apex in Las Vegas.
Both men have been on great runs as of late but it was Hernandez that was able to continue his finishing streak by ending the fight with ground and pound in the fifth round.
Already in the top 15 rankings, Hernandez is now hunting the biggest name possible so that he can continue working towards a UFC title shot:
"Man, it's just what I expected. I had no nerves all week," he said in his post-fight interview. "Like I've been telling you guys, I'm ready for my belt, I'm out of my own way. Just give me whoever the f*** it takes. Dana, you've always gave me tough f****** fights, give me someone that's going to give me a title shot, I'm ready, I'll prove it to you."
"I don't even follow the roster that close so I couldn't f****** tell you whose in front of me but I know that I'm ready, I'm sharp and I'm ready for f****** anyone."
Many expected Pereira to have the advantage early on with his explosive striking style and he did land a body kick that hurt his opponent early on.
Despite pouring on the pressure, Hernandez was able to keep his composure and turn the tide with his relentless output and takedowns.
"He got me! I was like oh s***! This m*********** is strong, strong! And when I grabbed on to take him down, I was like oh s***, I'm not going to get this guy down off strength. I'm not stronger than this guy, I had to be smart and use my technique and s*** and trust my strength and trust my chin and trust my body to get there."
Hernandez's cardio is one of his strongest attributes and he was once again to weaponize it in this fight, giving all the credit to his preparations:
"Man, I've been telling you guys, I train at game fit and he tries to kill me for an hour straight and ever since then, I've been locked in. Nothing can break me but myself, that much I know."
His gruelling pace eventually earned him the finish despite Pereira proving to be a difficult man to put away.
With Hernandez now in a great spot to take on a top 10 ranked contender next time out, he was happy to put a closing statement on this performance.
"Dude, for a second I tried to like do strength and get the anaconda's and s*** but that m*********** is strong bro. He's f****** strong, I don't know how he made 170, that's crazy to me."
Watch the full interview below:
