Connect with us

Sports

Gregory Rodrigues overcomes Anthony Hernandez in UFC battle

Published

on

Mar 7, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Gregory Rodrigues (red gloves) reacts after defeating fight Brunno Ferreira (blue gloves) during UFC 326 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesMar 7, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Gregory Rodrigues (red gloves) reacts after defeating fight Brunno Ferreira (blue gloves) during UFC 326 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Gregory Rodrigues relied on devastating leg attacks and suffocating takedown defense to defeat hometown favorite Anthony Hernandez via unanimous decision in the middleweight non-title main event of UFC Fight Night Saturday night at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.

The Brazilian Rodrigues (20-6 MMA) took the victory on all three judges’ scorecards with tallies of 48-47, 49-46 and 48-47. In a grueling 25-minute showcase, Rodrigues scored four calf-kick knockdowns, stuffed 25 of 28 takedown attempts, and maintained relentless striking volume to turn back Hernandez (15-4 MMA), a native of Dunnigan, Calif., in front of his home-state crowd.

Following the statement win which ran his win streak to four fights, Rodrigues set his sights on the upper echelon of the middleweight division, targeting a future showdown against former UFC champion Dricus du Plessis, who is currently the second-ranked contender in the division.

“Dricus du Plessis, where are you, man? I want you,” Rodrigues said after the match. “Let’s go (fight to be the No. 1 contender).”

Hernandez was gracious in defeat after a grueling, high-paced battle which snapped his eight-fight winning streak.

Advertisement

“He’s a tough son of a b****,” Hernandez said of Rodrigues.

In the co-main event, heavyweight contender Vitor Petrino (15-2 MMA) of Brazil utilized dominant wrestling to neutralize the knockout power of Moldova’s Serghei Spivac (18-7 MMA), sweeping the scorecards with unanimous 30-27 marks across the board.

The victory keeps Petrino firmly in the heavyweight title picture, while Spivac dropped his fourth bout in his last six appearances.

Former ONE Championship two-division champion Reinier de Ridder (22-4 MMA) of the Netherlands made his UFC light heavyweight debut look effortless, stopping Roman Dolidze (15-6 MMA) of Georgia with dominant ground-and-pound at 4:01 of the first round.

Advertisement

The victory marked the 12th first-round finish of de Ridder’s career while extending Dolidze’s losing skid to three. He hasn’t entered the win column since defeating Marvin Vettori in March 2025.

A devastating sequence of three elbows completely turned the tide for lightweight MarQuel Mederos (12-1-1 MMA), who halted the momentum of Welsh Cage Warriors veteran Mason Jones (18-3 MMA) before unloading a barrage of follow-up strikes to secure a second-round TKO at the 2:07 mark.

The victory snapped Jones’ seven-fight winning streak and pushed Mederos’ overall unbeaten run to 11 straight.

Advertisement

In the flyweight division, Carli Judice (7-2 MMA) kept her momentum rolling with a violent first-round TKO over previously undefeated prospect Jeisla Chaves (8-1 MMA) of Brazil.

A pinpoint liver kick followed by a flurry of unanswered strikes sealed the stoppage for Judice, marking her fourth straight victory and fifth career first-round finish.

Chaves entered the fight coming off a split-decision win in her promotional debut against Yuneisy Duben in June.

Just eleven days after earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, heavyweight Anthony Wint (8-0 MMA) delivered a dominant promotional debut to open the main card, submitting Terrance Chatman (5-2 MMA) with an arm-triangle choke at 4:29 of the first round.

Advertisement

A former linebacker for the New York Jets who made his MMA debut in April 2023, Wint extended his streak of consecutive finishes to five, while Chatman dropped his second bout in his last three outings.

The UFC heads to Shanghai to close out its August stretch of events with a Fight Night card next Saturday.

–Field Level Media

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Sports

5 new champions that can be crowned at AEW All In 2026

Published

on

AEW is set to present its biggest show of the year, All In 2026, on Sunday, August 30, at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The company has assembled a stacked match card with multiple title matches, and several AEW stars could leave the show as new champions.

The All In 2026 event will feature top challengers like Mercedes Moné, Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Konosuke Takeshita, and many others competing in high-stakes title matches. While some are looking to reclaim championship glory, others are eyeing their first-ever titles in the Jacksonville-based promotion, including stars who could debut at the show. Here are five top names who could become new champions at AEW All In 2026:

Advertisement

#5. Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio Castagnoli has impressed audiences with his performance in AEW and in the Continental Challenge Cup, which has been underway in recent weeks. The Swiss Superman outlasted Ace Austin in the first-round match and recently beat his Death Riders cohort, Daniel Garcia, on the August 22 episode of Collision to advance to the semi-finals. Castagnoli will next face the Death Riders’ leader, Jon Moxley, in the semi-finals on the upcoming episode of Dynamite in Glasgow, Scotland. With his rising momentum in full force, the former WWE United States Champion is likely to defeat Moxley and then beat the other finalist of the Cup at All In 2026 to become the new AEW Continental Champion.

#4. Konosuke Takeshita

Kyle Fletcher is scheduled to defend his AEW International Championship against Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita in a three-way bout at All In 2026. Despite being part of the Don Callis Family, Fletcher and Okada have had evident problems between them. It could lead to a scenario where tensions would explode between them, and Takeshita might take advantage of the situation and outlast Fletcher and Okada to win the International title for the third time.

#3. Darby Allin

The rivalry between Darby Allin and Kevin Knight ignited at Double or Nothing 2026. Right after Allin dropped the AEW World Championship to MJF in the main event, Knight came out and shockingly attacked The Invisible Man, turning heel in the process. Moreover, tensions have risen between the two stars, especially after Allin fell into Knight’s trap and was subjected to a pyro accident on Dynamite this week. The feud will lead to a Falls Count Anywhere match for Knight’s TNT Championship at All In 2026. Following Allin’s short yet remarkable World title reign, it is expected that he will dethrone Knight at All In 2026, and this captivating program is likely to continue with more matches between two of the rising names in Tony Khan’s promotion.

#2. AEW star Swerve Strickland & The New Day, who could make their debut

Swerve Strickland crossed paths with the AEW World Trios Champions, Hangman Adam Page and Brodido (Bandido and Brody King) in recent weeks. The Mogul will now select two partners of his choice and challenge them for their Trios titles at All In 2026. It is heavily teased that Strickland’s partners will be none other than The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods), who are rumored to join All Elite Wrestling after recently becoming free agents following their WWE departure in May 2026. Tony Khan and his creative regime are likely to make a huge impact with The New Day’s rumored debut and can book them and Strickland to become new champions at All In.

Advertisement

#1. Mercedes Mone

Mercedes Mone is set to challenge her heated rival, Willow Nightingale, for the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In 2026. This will be the second year that Mone is competing for the title after coming up short against Timeless Toni Storm last year at All In Texas. The CEO returned to the company in June after a lengthy hiatus. She had been away due to dealing with some issues and blamed Nightingale. Mone had injured her ankle in a match against her in NJPW in 2023 and underwent therapy during her recent time away from All Elite Wrestling. Moreover, the former RAW Women’s Champion revealed that her post-therapy interaction was with Willow, who smiled at her knowing that it would annoy her.

“Not only did she see that I was hurt, but she stood over me after she pinned me and smiled at me. Me, the greatest women’s wrestler of all time, the woman that really pushed this era forward, the woman that made people believe that they can be women’s wrestlers..then I chose AEW and who was there to greet me? Her dumb*ss. I wanted those tag team titles you know I’m the greatest tag team wrestler of all time. Who was there to beat me? Dumb*ss Willow…. Then I was on the run of my life, 13 belts for me.. not only did she disrespect me, she threw cake at my face… And smiled at me,” Mone said.

Furthermore, Big D Mone is yet to capture the Women’s World title since her AEW debut in 2024. With Mercedes Mone preparing well for her big fight and possibly having learned from her shortcomings in her previous attempts to win the title and matches with Willow Nightingale, it is likely that she will walk out with the championship from All In 2026.