UFC Vegas 109 at the UFC APEX delivered a night that swung from highlight finishes to razor-thin scorecards.
After prelims that produced several stoppage moments, the main card on Saturday, August 9, settled into a run of close, competitive fights that largely went to the judges—until the headliner closed the show inside the distance.
In the main event, Anthony Hernandez defeated Roman Dolidze by submission at 2:45 of Round 4. Over nearly four rounds, Hernandez advanced behind steady pressure and a relentless pace, steering the action toward the fence and forcing prolonged clinch and grappling sequences.
As the minutes piled up, the toll showed. Late in the fourth, Hernandez connected with knees along the cage, stayed attached as the exchange shifted, and locked a rear-naked choke without hooks to secure the tap.
With this result, Hernandez extended his winning streak to eight in the UFC middleweight division, and the main card featured two middleweight stoppages framing a run of decisions.
The official UFC blog noted that Hernandez was in peak form, writing, "This was “Fluffy” at his absolute best, taking the fight to Dolidze every second, chipping away with small shots until he could land bigger shots and truly punish his opponent. The longer the fight went, the more Hernandez dominated, repeatedly leaving Dolidze in a tired heap on the canvas and calling him back into the fray."
The card opened with another middleweight finish. Christian Leroy Duncan halted Eryk Anders after initiating the decisive sequence with a spinning back elbow, then closing moments later.
Between those bookends, the judges were busy. Two bouts ended in split decisions, with Jean Matsumoto and Andre Fili on the winning side of those scorecards.
Two more went the full three rounds and were scored unanimously, resulting in victories for Iasmin Lucindo and Steve Erceg.