The MMA Daily

The curtain jerker comes in the Middleweight division, as Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez takes on newcomer Josh Fremd. Originally scheduled to take on Dricus Du Plessis, Hernandez was part of a card shuffle that see’s him now face a debuting fighter. A winner of two of his last three, Hernandez is starting to build momentum. Perhaps his biggest win came in his most recent fight though, as he upset BJJ legend Rodolfo Vieira by submission. Meanwhile, Fremd steps into his UFC debut on short notice. Having won two straight and seven of the last eight, Fremd seems more than ready for this opportunity. Especially when you factor in that he is a former LFA veteran who has headlined two events.

As for a prediction, I’m going with Hernandez. While I’m not overly confident in this prediction, Hernandez has been better than most have given him credit for. Over his past six fights, he has defeated Brendan Allen, Jun Yong Park, Rodolfo Viera and technically Jordan Wright. His two defeats have come to Markus Perez and Kevin Holland. Outside of the Perez loss, Hernandez has been nearly flawless, notching several big victories. The only worry I have with Hernandez, is his cardio. Having only gone the distance once in ten fights, Hernandez potentially could be exposed should Fremd push a frantic pace. Something in which I’ve noticed Fremd can thrive in. However, I’ve also noticed that Fremd can be taken down and controlled. Given Hernandez has excellent grappling and previously took Park down six times in their fight, I can see the same going down here. So with that said, I predict that Hernandez wins via late submission.