UFC Vegas 99 start time, full fight card details | Pereira vs. Hernandez

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is once again at the APEX later TONIGHT (Sat., Oct. 19, 2024) to stage UFC Vegas 99 in Las Vegas, Nevada featuring a Middleweight fight between Anthony Hernandez and Michel Pereira. Co-headlining the ESPN+-streamed event will be a Bantamweight showdown between Rob Font and Kyler Phillips.

What’s Hot:

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Anthony Hernandez has quietly gone on a nice run inside the Octagon by winning five straight and going unbeaten in the last four years. “Fluffy” currently sits at No. 13 on the official UFC rankings, but another win (maybe two) and he could very well hit the Top 10. Of his five wins during his run, he has finished four of his foes, and now the submission specialist is out to secure another highlight reel finish when he headlines his first-ever event against one of the most dangerous (and most entertaining) fighters in the division who is out to make his own mark in Michel Pereira.

UFC Fight Night: Hernandez v Pereira Weigh-in

After a 1-2 start to his UFC career, Pereira has turned it around and has won eight straight fights, with five of those coming in the Welterweight division before deciding to move back up to 185 pounds for good, winning three straight in that weight class. What’s been impressive about his jump up is that he has finished all three of his opponents in the very first round with a combined fight time of just three minutes, earning him three consecutive “Performance of the Night” awards. That’s why Pereira (No. 14) is a fan-favorite. He now has a chance to make his argument for a Top 10 spot if he can stop “Fluffy” in his tracks, but finishing him will be a tough task because the last time he was finished was in 2020, courtesy of Kevin Holland. This fight has all of the makings of a battle that could lead to one of the best fights of the year.

What’s Not:

Matheus Nicolau — the No. 7 ranked Flyweight in the game — is out to break his two-fight losing streak against Asu Almabayev who is on a 16-fight win streak. Asu has won his first three fights inside the Octagon and looks to keep his hot streak going. That said, I don’t like this fight for the sheer fact that one man is on fire while the other is struggling very bad. Why do UFC matchmakers keep doing this?

Original Card vs. Actual Card:

There were no major changes made to this event, other than Cameron Smotherman stepping to to face Jake Hadley on short notice against Brady Hiestand.

Injuries:

Rayanne dos Santos was in line to face Alice Ardelean in a women’s Strawweight bout before she was forced to withdraw last month due to a broken arm. She was ultimately replaced by Melissa Martinez, who is in desperate need of a win. Indeed, Martinez failed to impress in her UFC debut, losing to Elise Reed via unanimous decision. That was the first loss of her pro MMA career after starting off 7-0 on the regional circuit. If she goes down 0-2 under the UFC banner it won’t be a good look. As for Ardelean, she is in the same boat after losing a split-decision in her first fight inside the Octagon to Shauna Bannon.

New Blood:

Cameron Smotherman got the late call up to make his UFC debut against Jake Hadley after Brady Hiestand was forced out of the event for undisclosed reasons. Smotherman is 11-4 as a professional and is currently on a three-fight win streak. After losing on the Contender Series in Aug. 2023, “The Baby-Faced killer” went on to win three straight fights under the Fury FC banner, and now looks to make a splash in his UFC debut against Hadley, who is an even 3-3 so far inside the Octagon.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Being inconsistently consistent seems to be Elise Reed’s main objective because since making her UFC debut in 2021 she has racked up 3-4 record, alternating wins and losses along the way. She is coming off a loss to Loopy Godinez over a year ago, and now faces a tough challenge in Jessica Penne, one of the most experienced female fighters under the UFC banner, fighting for the promotion for over a decade. That said, she is just 2-5 in her last seven fights and comes into the event on a two-fight losing streak.

We are keeping our theme going of fighters coming into the event on two-fight skids because both Joselyne Edwards and Tamires Vidal will be fighting for their UFC lives as they try to avoid their third straight loss when they face off against one another in a women’s Bantamweight bout.

In his second go-around with UFC, Brad Katona has gone an impressive 2-1 and was last seen defeating Jesse Butler earlier this year via unanimous decision. The former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) champion will face Jean Matsumoto, who has yet to taste defeat in his career. Indeed, the talented 135-pound fighter is 15-0, and made an impressive UFC debut by defeating Dan Argueta via rear-naked choke earlier this year.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

There are several fighters on this card who are in desperate need of wins because the majority of them are coming into the event with two fight skids, but we are going with Austen Lane here. Lane’s first three fights inside the Octagon have not gone his way, with his debut ending prematurely and ruled a no contest (NC) due to an inadvertent eye poke against Justin Tafa. In the rematch, he was knocked out by Tafa (see it here). Seven months later, he was finished by Jhonata Diniz, and now goes into his big man showdown against Robelis Despaigne in a must-win situation. As for Despaigne, he needs to show improvement because after coming into the promotion on a four-fight win streak, all via first-round knockout, and then wowing fight fans with an 18-second destruction of Josh Parisian in his UFC debut, his gas tank was exposed by Waldo Cortes-Acosta this past summer. He has shown to have power and the ability to end fights early, but he needs to show a well-rounded attack if he wants to hang around the promotion for a long time.

Interest Level: 5/10

In the co-main event, Rob Font will attempt to snap his two-fight losing streak against Kyler Phillips. Font has been struggling as of late, losing four of his last five fights, though he hasn’t been finished in either of those defeats. Still, the promotion felt it was appropriate to give him a co-main event slot despite his recent shortcomings. As for Phillips, he has been enjoying great success, racking up a 6-1 record inside the Octagon, though his last three wins have come a year apart each time. That’s because “The Matrix” hasn’t been very active, and this will only be his fourth fight in three years.

Daniel Pineda’s run inside the Octagon has been wonky to say the least. After defeating Herbert Burns via technical knockout (TKO), he has only managed to rack up a 1-3-1 record since. He comes into his fight against Darren Elkins on a, you guessed it, two-fight losing streak. As for Elkins, “The Damage” will be stepping foot inside the Octagon for the first time in over a year and was last seen defeating T.J. Brown. The longtime veteran has been competing for the promotion for 14 years now and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

After a rough start to his UFC career that saw him go 2-4, Charles Johnson has racked up three straight wins, finding his rhythm after a dreadful three-fight skid. “InnerG” is coming off a knockout win over Joshua Van this past summer, so his confidence is at an all-time high. He will be facing off against Sumudaerji, who is currently on a two-fight losing streak. Another loss could spell the end of the UFC road for him.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Vegas 99 Fight Card:

UFC Vegas 99 Main Event On ESPN+:
185 lbs.: Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira
UFC Vegas 99 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: Rob Font vs. Kyler Phillips
125 lbs. Charles Johnson vs. Sumudaerji
135 lbs.: Jake Hadley vs. Cameron Smotherman (not Brady Hiestand)
145 lbs.: Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda
UFC Vegas 99 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):
125 lbs.: Matheus Nicolau vs. Asu Almabayev
135 lbs.: Brad Katona vs. Jean Matsumoto
135 lbs.: Joselyne Edwards vs. Tamires Vidal
115 lbs.: Jessica Penne vs. Elise Reed
115 lbs.: Melissa Martinez vs. Alice Ardelean
265 lbs.: Austen Lane vs. Robelis Despaigne
*Fight card, bout order and amount of fights remain subject to change.*

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 99 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 7 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 99: “Pereira vs. Hernandez” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

UFC Vegas 99 start time, full fight card details | Pereira vs. Hernandez