UFC Vegas 109’s Thrilling Main Card Saturday at Apex Facility

UFC Vegas 109 Main Event: No. 9 Contender Roman Dolidze vs. No. 10 Contender Anthony Hernandez

At the top of the bill on the UFC Vegas 109 main card, the middleweights take center stage when No. 9 contender Roman Dolidze (15-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) meets No. 10 contender Anthony Hernandez (14-2, 1 NC MMA, 8-2 UFC.) This main event is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close out the show.

Roman Dolidze comes into the UFC Vegas 109 main event having posted a record of 3-2 in his last five appearances. Currently, he’s gotten his hand raised in victory three times in succession.

This past March, he took Marvin Vettori to the distance, scoring the unanimous decision on the scorecards. Dolidze has remained active since the start of the year in 2024. Saturday’s headliner is the fifth contest for Dolidze in that span.

Can he score his fourth straight win in this crucial fight? His opponent across the way is no slouch when it comes to getting the job done inside the cage.

Anthony Hernandez will be making the walk on Saturday night with a 5-0 record as part of a seven-fight winning streak. On Feb. 22 in Seattle, he bested Brendan Allen (25-7 MMA, 13-4 UFC) on the cards after 15 minutes of action.

With Anthony Hernandez on a hot streak at the moment, one can expect him to crank up the intensity once again at UFC Vegas 109. Only time will tell, however, if this is to be the case.

UFC Vegas 109 Co-Main Event: Steve Erceg vs. Ode Osbourne

Immediately prior to the headliner, the co-main event of the evening takes place at 135 lbs when Steve Erceg (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) takes on Ode Osbourne (13-8, 1 NC MMA, 5-6 UFC.) It’ll be a three-round fight at five minutes per round.

Erceg comes in having prepared for his third different opponent, having sported a 2-3 mark in his last five fights. Back on March 29, he traveled to Mexico City for a fight versus Brandon Moreno (23-8-2 MMA, 11-5-2 UFC), losing by unanimous decision. As previously mentioned, Erceg is on his third opponent for UFC Vegas 109.

A planned fight vs. HyunSung Park was scrubbed when the latter was moved up to the Aug. 2 card to face Tatsuro Taira, losing by face crank submission in the second round. Previously, Erceg was to fight Alex Perez before he was forced out of the contest due to injury in July. It was the 14th time that Perez has had a fight canceled since 2019.

Having his opponent change multiple times ahead of the contest couldn’t have been easy for Steve Erceg and his camp. What kind of adjustments have they made?

Meanwhile, Ode Osbourne will enter the Octagon with a 2-3 record of his own over the past five contests. Four months ago, he stepped into the cage at the Apex, scoring a second-round knockout and $50,000 (USD) for the Performance of the Night bonus after the show.

If Ode Osbourne can beat Steve Erceg, a man who once challenged for the UFC Bantamweight Championship, it’ll be an impressive highlight on his career resume.

UFC Vegas 109: No. 8 Contender Iasmin Lucindo vs. No. 12 Contender Angela Hill

Also on the UFC Vegas 109 main card, it’ll be moving day in the strawweight division when No. 8 contender Iasmin Lucindo (17-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) takes on No. 12 contender Angela Hill (18-14 MMA, 13-14 UFC.) Lucindo comes in with a record of 4-1 in her last five fights.

On March 8, she saw a four-fight winning streak snapped (unanimous decision) at the hands of Amanda Lemos (15-4-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC.) Given that she’s coming in off of a loss, it’s fair to say that one can expect Lucindo to fight with frustration on Saturday night. Her opponent in the other corner still has that fire in the belly, however.

Angela Hill will enter this weekend with a 3-2 mark over the course of her five previous scraps. Most recently, she bested Ketlen Souza (15-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) by split decision in February of this year.

Don’t let her No. 12 ranking at 115 lbs fool you. She’s hungry for a shot at the UFC Strawweight Championship, as she told USA Today’s MMA Junkie recently.

“I’m motivated by the close decisions I’ve lost because I feel like in an alternate universe, I would have fought for the belt by now,” Hill said. “It’s more so the motivation of showing the potential I have before it’s too late. That drives me every time I get in there. Now that I’ve been in the top 15 for a few years, I know I’m right there.”

Can Hill crack the top 10 at 115? Tune in on Saturday and find out.

Final Thoughts

Which main card fight or fights are you looking forward to on UFC Vegas 109 this coming weekend?