The California faithful didn’t have many home state representatives Saturday at UFC 298, but Anthony Hernandez was one – and he sent them into a frenzy.
Hernandez (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) defeated Roman Kopylov (12-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) by rear-naked choke submission at 3:23 of Round 2 in a middleweight bout that opened up the main card at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
The fight was competitive throughout, as Kopylov displayed solid takedown defense early. After body kicks and head kicks by Kopylov, Hernandez took the fight to the canvas. He worked to the back and patiently maneuvered for a rear-naked choke.
After one final adjustment, Hernandez nodded. He knew. Kopylov grimaced and the tap came. The Dunnigan, Calif. received a large ovation from the crowd as he celebrated quite possibly the biggest win of his career.
FIVE IN A ROW FOR FLUFFY🤯@ILoveBAMF get the RNC in the second round! #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/XRctsOPNK7
— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2024
With the victory, Hernandez extends his winning streak to five. Saturday’s victory succeeds consecutive wins over Rodolfo Vieira, Josh Fremd, Marc-Andre Barriault, and Edmen Shahbazyan.
Kopylov has a four-fight winning streak snapped. His previous loss was a unanimous decision dropped against Albert Duraev in October 2021.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 298 results include:
- Anthony Hernandez def. Roman Kopylov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:23
- Amanda Lemos def. Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Junior Tafa via TKO (leg kicks, punches) – Round 2, 1:14
- Rinya Nakamura def. Carlos Vera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Zhang Mingyang def. Brendson Ribeiro via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:41
- Danny Barlow def. Josh Quinlan via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:18
- Oban Elliott def. Val Woodburn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Miranda Maverick def. Andrea Lee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.