Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC Sacramento mixed martial arts (MMA) event, set to go down tomorrow night (Sat., Aug. 22, 2026) on Paramount+ from inside Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. UFC Sacramento features a middleweight main event between Top 10 middleweight contenders Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues, a five-round showdown with possible title implications for late 2026 and beyond.
Before we dive into the main and co-main event,
which includes the titanic tilt between heavyweight titans Serghei Spivac and Vitor Petrino, check out Andrew Richardson’s “X-Factor” breakdown for the rest of the UFC Sacramento main card by clicking here. Get all the latest “Hernandez vs. Rodrigues” odds and betting props courtesy of FanDuel right here. For UFC Sacramento live results for this weekend’s Paramount+ fight card in “The Golden State” click here.
185 lbs.: Anthony Hernandez vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez
Record: 15-3, 1 NC | Age: 32 | Betting line: -190
Wins: 3 KO/TKO, 9 SUB, 3 DEC | Losses: 2 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 0 DEC
Height: 6’0” | Reach: 75” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 4.57 | Striking accuracy: 60%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 3.10 | Striking Defense: 51%
Takedown Average: 5.88 (48% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 68%
Current Ranking: No. 7 | Last fight: Technical knockout loss to Sean Strickland
Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues
Record: 19-6 | Age: 34 | Betting line: +160
Wins: 12 KO/TKO, 3 SUB, 4 DEC | Losses: 4 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 2 DEC
Height: 6’3“ | Reach: 75” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 5.53 | Striking accuracy: 51%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 4.78 | Striking Defense: 50%
Takedown Average: 1.90 (34% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 75%
Current Ranking: No. 10 | Last fight: Knockout win over Brunno Ferreira
Anthony Hernandez returns after his disappointing loss to Sean Strickland at UFC Houston back in February and I don’t like to use the word “exposed” but I think that performance established a clear ceiling for “Fluffy” as it pertains to the 185-pound title picture. Strickland shut him down across the board and to be fair, “Tarzan” does that to some of the best fighters in the world, which is why Khamzat Chimaev is at home tweeting about the belt instead of polishing it. Hernandez is one of the division’s most suffocating wrestlers, averaging nearly six takedowns per three rounds of action. He landed nine against Roman Dolidze and 10 against Michel Pereira en route to stoppages in both outings and no doubt he’ll look to replicate those performances at UFC Sacramento. “Fluffy” has serviceable striking but it’s mostly just an excuse to set up his takedowns, which lead to submission attempts or elbows from the top. The strategy earned him eight straight wins prior to the Strickland fight so there’s really no reason to try to reinvent the wheel.
“I had to make some adjustments,” Hernandez told MMA Fighting. “Train with better guys, sharpen some shit up, and then make sure that I’m not doing dumb shit. But yeah, I’m good, man. It is what it is. I really don’t give a fuck to talk about that fight, man. I’m not going to lie. I’m sorry, but like I really don’t give a fuck about the past. I’m focused on Gregory Rodrigues right now, that’s all I can think about. I had a great camp. Being at the [UFC] P.I., it was fucking amazing having everyone there — from fucking Charles and Hannah with the meal preps and like just overall it was, I just made everything about fighting and I fucking left home all summer. My wife, thank God for her, and the grandparents because they’ve been fucking holding it down for me while I’m able to chase this dream and go out there and take full advantage.”
Gregory Rodrigues comes into this fight with seven brutal knockouts and six post-fight performance bonuses, which sounds like a lot, but you need at least 10 UFC knockouts to crack the Top 10 all-time list and a minimum of 13 bonuses to enter that same conversation. Still, Rodrigues is one of the most exciting fighters in his weight class and proved he’s more than just knockouts in his “Fight of the Night” wars against Christian Leroy Duncan and Jared Cannonier. That said, when you live by the sword you often die by the sword, which is why “Robocop” has been knocked out in four of his six losses. I don’t think that’s going to be an issue against Hernandez, who does not have knockout power, but Rodrigues may not be able to throw with reckless abandon, either, lest he open himself up for the takedown. I think the takedown is coming regardless of whether or not the Brazilian is conservative in his approach, which is more a credit to “Fluffy” than it is a detriment to Rodrigues, who is a pretty good offensive wrestler in his own right. That said, he was 0-4 on takedown attempts against Roman Kopylov at UFC 322 and was taken down twice himself, which may serve as a predictor for this weekend’s five-round headliner.
“I’m a guy who likes to study, you know? Every single fighter that I will be facing,” Rodrigues told MMA Junkie. “So, I studied everything I needed with my team and I have the best gameplan. I am 100 percent sure that’s going to be enough to neutralize him, get a win, and keep walking on my path to the title. Maybe you guys gonna to see ‘Fluffy’ tap. But I’m ready. I know how tough he his, and I will expect the best of ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez, and for sure he can expect a better ‘Robocop’ at this time, and that’s gonna be good.”
I doubt Hernandez wastes any time here and will probably come barreling out of the gate and put Rodrigues on his ass early. Not only will it give “Fluffy” control of the fight, it will sap the confidence of “Robocop” and leave him frustrated, unable to make the right choices. I think Hernandez grounds and pounds his way to an early finish.
Prediction: Hernandez def. Rodrigues by technical knockout
265 lbs.: Serghei Spivac vs. Vitor Petrino
Serghei “The Polar Bear” Spivac
Record: 18-6 | Age: 31 | Betting line: +125
Wins: 7 KO/TKO, 8 SUB, 3 DEC | Losses: 4 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 2 DEC
Height: 6’3“ | Reach: 78” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 3.57 | Striking accuracy: 47%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 4.23 | Striking Defense: 52%
Takedown Average: 3.82 (59% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 63%
Current Ranking: No. 9 | Last fight: Unanimous decision win over Ante Delija
Vitor “Cabuloso” Petrino
Record: 14-2 | Age: 28 | Betting line: -150
Wins: 8 KO/TKO, 2 SUB, 4 DEC | Losses: 1 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 0 DEC
Height: 6’3“ | Reach: 77” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 3.24 | Striking accuracy: 48%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.71 | Striking Defense: 51%
Takedown Average: 2.60 (46% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 79%
Current Ranking: No. 11 | Last fight: Unanimous decision win over Steven Asplund
Serghei Spivac first joined UFC as a 23-year-old heavyweight prospect who was 9-0 on the international circuit with all nine of those wins coming by way of knockout or submission — eight within the first round. Then he joined UFC and was summarily destroyed by Walt Harris at UFC Ottawa, which kind of set the tone for the rest of his career. Under the UFC banner Spivac is 9-6, looking like a world beater against the bottom half of the division and coming up short against legitimate contenders. His best weapon is his offensive wrestling, good enough to score six takedowns against Derrick Lewis and another six opposite Tai Tuivasa, who were both finished by the Moldovan “Polar Bear.” That said, Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane barely broke a sweat in their respective wins over Spivac, which tells me — along with a recent loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta — that Spivac is going to spend the rest of his UFC run hovering somewhere in the middle of the pack. He’s not the most outspoken fighter, which probably doesn’t help his marketability, but he’s a good measuring stick for up-and-coming heavyweight talent.
“I am a little more quiet, a little more private of a person, but we’re all professional fighters,” Spivac said at the UFC Sacramento media day. “We’re all doing the way we know best. Different people do it differently. There’s a good amount of competition [at Freestyle MMA in Las Vegas]. There’s like 8-10 heavyweights so we’re working all the time together, we’re preparing, these guys had fights recently. So we’ve put together a really good team of big guys that are helping each other out. A lot of it is keyed towards me. My preparation, the guys that I could compete with, the guys that give me some different looks. They specifically bring in new guys as well for my preparation.”
Vitor Petrino graduated Dana White’s “Contender Series” back in late 2022 with a stunning, second-round knockout win over Rodolfo Bellato. It was obvious from the jump that Petrino would not have a long career at 205 pounds due to his massive size and muscular, 6’3” frame. Back-to-back losses to Anthony Smith and Dustin Jacoby in 2024 were enough to send Petrino to heavyweight, where he typically weighs in around the 250-pound mark, and the results speak for themselves. In three fights since making the move, “Cabuloso” has rattled off three straight wins with two nasty finishes. While his competition has been nothing to write home about, Petrino is still just 28 years old and has a bright future at heavyweight, making the Spivac fight both the right matchup for this point in his career and a good test to see where the Brazilian is at in terms of competitiveness at the next level. Losing to Spivac is not a career killer; however, it would probably take a lengthy run before anyone started talking about Petrino again.
“I already have proved myself inside of the heavyweight division,” Petrino said at the UFC Sacramento media day. “I have a very good submission, a knockout, and my last fight was a war of three rounds. I want to show that against Spivac that I can have bigger fights inside of the division. I know that Spivac is a very tough opponent, but I’m very ready to show my full potential against him. I see that the heavyweight division is starting to have a new transformation. There’s new athletes coming, new heavyweights coming to the game, and I think there will be new champions showing up in a very short time. I think [Spivac] has proven himself already in the organization. He only has defeats in the Top 5 of the organization. I’m going to be showing that I’m ready.”
Spivac is the more well rounded fighter and his performance will be dictated by whether or not he can secure the takedown. If he’s successful in that regard, it’s going to be a long night for Petrino. The more likely scenario is that “Polar Bear” spends too much time dicking around on the feet and gets tagged, allowing the more agile Petrino to jump in for the kill.
Prediction: Petrino def. Spivac by technical knockout
Be sure to check out the rest of the UFC Sacramento main card predictions RIGHT HERE.
