The UFC is planning the biggest production they’ve ever had for September’s PPV that will go down at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The September 14th show which is being called Riyadh Season Noche UFC saw it’s first banger of a matchup announced yesterday. Announced initially on his own Instagram, Michel Pereira (31-11) will be taking on Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez (12-2).
Dana White has publicly said that this event will be his love letter to Mexican people and their fighting spirit. With that, he wanted to put on an incredible card that embodies that spirit. If this first matchup is a sign of things to come from the rest of the card, buckle your seat belts.
Starting with Anthony Hernandez, he will be looking for his sixth straight victory when he makes the walk on September 14th. After earning a contract on The Contender Series, Hernandez started just 1-2 through his first three octagon appearances. However, since then he’s 5-0 and now he’s ranked. He’ll get to fight on this historic UFC 306 card and he’s going to be tasked with stopping the momentum of Michel Pereira.
Riyadh Season Noche UFC
Michel Pereira entered the UFC and was a wild man from the very beginning. That wild nature caused him to gas out and lose his second fight by decision to Tristan Connelly, but he hasn’t truly lost since. Sure, he had a DQ loss to Diego Sanchez in his next fight, but that was a fight he was utterly dominating until an illegal knee landed which ended the fight.
That DQ loss was before the pandemic. Since then, Pereira has gone 8-0 inside the octagon. That said, things changed for Pereira last year. For years, Pereira tried getting down to welterweight but the cut was becoming virtually impossible. After a bad weight miss which cancelled a fight against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Pereira decided to move up.
That’s been the best decision of his career. Since moving up, Pereira is 3-0 with three first round finishes. Not a single fight has gone longer than 66 seconds. Most recently, he submitted Ihor Potieria in 54 seconds with a standing guillotine. He looks like a monster at 185 and if he’s able to run through Anthony Hernandez like he has his last three opponents, it won’t be long before he’s contending for a title shot.
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