Hernandez has alternated wins and losses since his surprising debut knockout win over Beneil Dariush back at UFC 222. Now based in Colorado and repping the Factory X Muay Thai squad, “Alexander the Great” has earned first-round knockout wins in each of his last two victories, but struggled in matchups like this against strong grapplers, so it will be interesting to see which pattern continues.
Moicano moved up to lightweight following a solid run as a contender in the featherweight division, registering a quick first-round submission win over Damir Hadzovic in his debut. He got stopped by Rafael Fiziev in his second lightweight appearance but bounced back with a second-round submission win over Jai Herbert last June, pushing his record to 15-4-1 in the process.
The positioning of this matchup and the fact that these two men are stationed outside the Top 15 at the moment should serve as another reminder of how deep and talented the lightweight division is right now. Both are eager to turn their most recent triumphs into the first of consecutive victories, so expect a highly competitive, entertaining clash when they hit the cage on Saturday.
Carlos Ulberg vs Fabio Cherant
Light heavyweight finishers line up across the cage from one another here as Carlos Ulberg returns to take on Fabio Cherant.
A member of the City Kickboxing team, Ulberg debuted amidst much fanfare last March, punching himself out before getting punched out by Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC 259. The former kickboxer has limited experience, but with clear power and a tremendous group around him, a bounce-back effort this weekend would not be surprising in the least.
Cherant is 7-0 against non-UFC talent and 0-3 against current UFC competitors, having lost to Aleksa Camur on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series and both Alonzo Menifield and William Knight after being called to the Octagon last year. The 27-year-old showed promise throughout his ascent to this level, and if he can tap back into it this weekend, he could come away with his first UFC victory.
AJ Dobson vs Jacob Malkoun
AJ Dobson makes his promotional debut opposite Jacob Malkoun in this preliminary card matchup on Saturday.
A member of the DWCS Class of ’21, Dobson carries a 6-0, 1 NC record into his UFC debut. The Ohio native has earned finishes in all but one of his first six victories, including his contract-winning triumph over Hashem Arkhagha in September.
