Robocop Silences the Doubters in UFC Sacramento War With Anthony Hernandez

The return to Sacramento was capitalized by an underdog victory in an all out dog fight between middleweights Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues which saw Robocop silence the cardio doubts and prove that he is able to fight for full 5 Rounds. 

As for Fluffy, credit where it’s due as he proved to be one of the toughest fighters in the division.

Gregory Rodrigues defeats Anthony Hernandez by Unanimous Decision

The narrative before the fight was that either Fluffy gets knocked out early by Robocop’s power, or Robocop falls victim to Fluffy’s consistent cardio wrestling, leading to a late finish or at least dominant decision victory. The reality, however, was quite different.

What we saw was Robcop composed, defending repeated takedown attempts while at the same time landing more shots inside the clinch. At the same time, we saw leg kicks become a huge factor for Robocop, dropping Anthony Hernandez 3 times throughout the fight. Every time we’d think Fluffy couldn’t take more damage, he’d survive to see another round and even find some success controlling Robocop.

Ultimately, the Brazilian found a second wind, a reinvigorated gas tank that took him to the finish line. The end result was an upset and quite frankly a great fight that solidified the return to Sacramento for the UFC.

Reinier deRidder defeats Roman Dolidze by R1 KO

Two former middleweights faced each other on the third fight of the main-event and this was perhaps one of the biggest mismatches we’ve seen in recent history. From start to finish, fans immediately noticed that RDR was visibly the true Light-Heavyweight, dominating not only with superior skill but also physically.

Despite the mismatch, RDR’s performance reminded us of how dominant he was during his first fights within the UFC, gathering wins over huge names like Bo Nickal and Robert Whittaker. A welcome addition at Light-Heavyweight, the Dutchman won’t have to succumb to insane weight-cuts, something he claimed has impacted him greatly in the past.

RDR is one more former middleweight in the Light-Heavyweight division, joining Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker. With a win over Robert Whittaker, there’s a lot of bargaining power for RDR to have a highly ranked fight sometime in the near future. The dominant display reminded fans just how efficient RDR can be when fully healthy.

UFC Sacramento Delivered

10 Finishes in 13 Fights. 

Ultimately, fans went home satisfied with an excellent display of violence that included finishes by Marquel Mederos, Carli Judice and even a beautiful submission from Anthony Wint, that only one week ago was fighting in the Apex for the Dana White Contender Series.

The prelims also delivered with an insane war between Gauge Young and Stan Dorsainvil, finishes by Marcio Barbosa and absolute upset by Jamall Emmers, knocking out Lerryan Douglas in the very first round in a fight many considered an easy win for the surging Brazilian.