UFC Sacramento losers face uncertain next steps after card

UFC Sacramento produced 10 finishes from 13 bouts. Gregory Rodrigues defeated Anthony Hernandez by unanimous decision after five rounds in the main event, while Vitor Petrino beat Serghei Spivac by the same verdict in the co-main event.

Hernandez’s defeat was his second in succession, the first losing run of his professional career. The 2018 Contender Series graduate is now 9-4 in the UFC, having also lost to Markus Perez, Kevin Holland and Sean Strickland. A meeting with former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman would give both fighters a significant test at middleweight.

Usman has gone 1-4 across his last five fights. His recent middleweight run includes two decision defeats and a victory over Joaquin Buckley, followed by a five-round loss to Dricus Du Plessis in July. If that matchup cannot be made, Hernandez could face the loser of the September 5 bout between Nursulton Ruziboev and Michael Page. Ruziboev is 5-1 in the UFC, while Page has a 4-1 record with the promotion.

Spivac has now lost three of his last four fights, with his only victory in that sequence coming against Ante Delija. His other defeats were against Jailton Almeida and Waldo Cortes-Acosta, leaving him 9-7 in the UFC since joining the promotion in 2019. The proposed next opponent is the loser of the September 5 heavyweight fight between Ryan Spann and Brando Pericic. Spivac’s experience could keep him near the division’s rankings after that bout.

Roman Dolidze was stopped by TKO inside one round by Reinier de Ridder in his first light heavyweight appearance since 2024. The result extended Dolidze’s losing streak to three fights. He is 9-6 in the UFC, with records of 6-5 at middleweight and 3-1 at light heavyweight. Jared Cannonier is one possible opponent after losing four of his last five fights, while Dolidze could instead meet the loser of Felipe Franco versus Alexander Poppeck if he remains at 205 pounds.

Mason Jones lost to MarQuel Mederos by second-round stoppage, ending a seven-fight unbeaten run and leaving him 4-3 with one no contest in the UFC. Nasrat Haqparast is a possible next opponent after suffering an arm-triangle defeat to Chris Padilla in the final second of their fight. Haqparast has lost his last two bouts, both by stoppage, after previously winning five straight.