UFC Vegas 99 Main Event Best Bet
For the second last time this year, the UFC holds an event at the Apex and brings a pair of middleweights that are knocking on the door of title contention to headline. The co-main event features a pivotal bantamweight scrap between slumping veteran, Rob Font, and rising contender, Kyler Phillips. Regardless, most of the heat on this card centers around the main event between two streaking fighters with conflicting styles. Read UFC Vegas 99 main event best bet below.
Anthony Hernandez aims for a 6th-straight victory and adding a fifth finish in that stretch as well.
Michel Pereira has been flawless at 185lbs since moving up last year, he looks for his 9th-straight win and his 4th at middleweight.
Will the relentless grappling style of Hernandez get the job done again? Or will the dynamic power striking of Pereira continue to prove fruitful? Read on to see how these contenders match up and who will come out on top.
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Anthony Hernandez
It’s unfortunate that a myriad of injuries has kept Hernandez from being as active as he can be. He’s pulled out of 5 fights since joining the promotion in 2019. Starting his career with the UFC on a 1-2 run, he has now won 5-straight and finished four of those opponents.
The only two fighters to defeat him are Markus Perez and Kevin Holland, who both hurt Hernandez to the body before finding the finish. Since then, he defeated dangerous opponents like Rodolfo Vieira, Edmen Shahbazyan, and Roman Kopylov. That winning streak stretched back to February 2021, mainly due to Hernandez constantly dealing with a hand injury.
I liken the style of Hernandez to Cain Velasquez, for my old UFC heads out there. He is all about pressure, takedowns, and mat returns. Often threatening with a front choke series of submissions, that allows him to either submit his opponents or get them to fall to their back to avoid the submission but allow Hernandez to regain dominant positions.
Cardio is another huge factor in the game of Hernandez, usually setting a high pace and volume that not many opponents can keep up with. Constantly having to defend submissions and takedowns is taxing, just as we’ve seen 12 of his 14 opponents fall victim to. Luckily, Hernandez is still just 31 and has enough time to carve out a legacy for himself in the UFC given how talented he is.
Michel Pereira
Coming into the UFC with 31 fights of experience already, many people knew of Pereira’s wild and chaotic fighting style. From jumps, to spins, to acrobatics like we’ve never seen before in the cage, Pereira would throw everything at his opponents. Seeing the 9 losses on his record, it was clear that style was only effective against a certain level of opponent.
That came to bite him as he came up short against Tristan Connelly who took advantage of the poor gas tank management and grinded him out. A DQ loss to Diego Sanchez gave way to the 8-fight winning streak he is now on, showcasing a maturity and growth in his game that not many expected.
Pereria has developed a bit more of a disciplined and cerebral approach to his game. Harnessing his power and not emptying the tank with a plethora of outlandish and unorthodox strikes, Pereira has won 4 of the 8 fights in this streak by submission, thanks to his maturity and discipline. He may still slow late, but he has managed his gas tank a lot better to ensure he doesn’t get taken advantage of.
Another aspect of his game that is impressive is hurting opponents with his striking then putting them away with submissions, rather than following up with a TKO in case he gasses himself out. What he did to Oleksiejczuk and Potieria in his last two fights is a perfect example of that.
The Pick
Now I just spoke of Pereira’s maturity and ability to manage his gas tank better during this run that he’s on. Luckily for him, he’s managed to get the respect of his opponents because of his power and dynamic striking, which has largely allowed him to dictate the pace and fight at his own speed.
He won’t have that luxury here if he can’t finish Hernandez early. I suspect we’ll see Hernandez survive the early onslaught then get to his grappling which should slow Pereira down. Having to constantly deal with the takedowns and relentless approach of Hernandez will show us that gassy side of Pereira once again and it should lead to a finish for Hernandez between rounds 2-4. Pereira to win in round 1 is a solid hedge at +350, but I’m going to go with ‘Fluffy’ here to do what he does best.
