UFC On ESPN 72: Dolidze vs. Hernandez takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, United States. – and we’ve got our UFC predictions for all the fights below, and you can place your bets with the best betting sites Australia has to offer!
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UFC On ESPN 72 Predictions
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Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez Prediction
Roman Dolidze has gone on a three-fight winning streak in the space of a little over a year, and now takes on one of the most in-form fighters in the division, Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez, who has won seven fights in a row.
Dolidze has never been one of the most talked about middleweights around, but has compiled a very respectable 9-3 record overall in the Octagon. A couple of years ago he did suffer back-to-back defeats, but he avenged his loss to Marvin Vettori with a solid win last time out, and there was no shame in losing to Nassourdine Imavov, who has since become the division’s No.1 contender. Dolidze is a large, muscularly built 185lb’er who isn’t the most technical or versatile striker, but does do a good job of applying pressure, has solid power in his punches and makes good use of his impactful low kicks. Meanwhile Dolidze also has good wrestling and ground-and-pound, while, he’s a craftier grappler than you might expect for someone with only three submission finishes to his name. Dolidze has also shown good durability and has still never been finished via either strikes or submission.
The 31-year-old Hernandez didn’t make a big impact at the start of his UFC run after suffering both a submission and TKO loss during his first three appearances. However, he’s since become a serious problem for his opponents in the Octagon, particularly thanks to his fast paced style and very tricky grappling ability. Hernandez is also willing to strike, employing a high-volume style, but he’s always looking for opportunities to bring the fight to the mat, and has proven adept at doing so. Once there he is all over his opponents like a rash with his tireless grappling, and has the ability to adapt quickly in scramble situations to keep the fight where he wants it while hunting for submission opportunities.
Dolidze has the power advantage here and may well hope to use his wrestling defensively to keep this one standing. That could pay dividends, but Hernandez has the cardio to push a very high tempo and repeatedly work for takedowns, and on the mat he will gradually wear down Dolidze’s energy reserves with his constant activity, paving the way for a third round submission finish.
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Steve Erceg vs. Ode Osbourne Prediction
Steve Erceg will attempt to break a three-fight losing slump when he goes up against Ode Osbourne, who comes in on a week’s notice to replace Hyun Sung Park after winning his last fight by TKO. To accommodate the late replacement switch the fight will be contested up at 135lbs.
The 30-year-old Erceg has been on a rollercoaster ride for the first couple of years of his UFC career, starting off with thee wins in a row that impressed the UFC brass enough that he was suddenly fast-tracked to title contention last year. However, Erceg lost by unanimous decision to current champ Alexandre Pantoja and a few months later was TKO’d by Kai Kara-France, while in March of this year he lost on the scorecards to Brandon Moreno. Of course these are three of the best fighters in the division, so it’s not like Erceg has just suddenly gone completely off the boil, though he has expressed concern he may be released if he can’t get back on track on Saturday night. Erceg is a well-rounded fighter who makes good use of his composed, accurate boxing, can nicely mix in elbow strikes and occasional kicks too and generally has a good sense for timing and distance management. Erceg also has respectable wrestling and was actually best known for his assured grappling earlier in his career, racking up six submission wins on the regional circuit.
The 33-year-old Osbourne has had a patchy 5-6 run in the UFC so far, including heading into this year off of three losses, but he has earned a win since then. The fact that this fight is being contested at 135lbs should suit Osbourne, not just because he’s coming in on short notice, but also because he’s a big flyweight anyway. He’s actually an inch shorter than Erceg, but is more thickly muscled and has a significant 5″ reach advantage to work with. And Osbourne does prefer to strike from range with good speed in his punches and kicks as well as respectable power. However, despite being fast he can still be quite hittable at times and has been KO’d twice during his time in the UFC. Meanwhile, Osbourne can wrestle and offers a ground-and-pound and submission threat on the mat, but at the same time he’s proven to be vulnerable defensively, having been submitted on four occasions.
Despite his recent form Erceg still feels like the more reliable and solid all-round fighter of the two here. Osbourne might be faster and more dynamic, but I think Erceg’s sound fundamentals and accuracy will find the holes in his opponent’s defense on the feet, and hurting him there will led to a second round submission on the mat.
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Iasmin Lucindo vs. Angela Hill Prediction
Iasmin Lucindo’s four-fight winning streak came to an end against Amanda Lemos in March and now she’ll fight Angela Hill, who has gone 3-2 in her last five Octagon appearances.
Lucindo has amassed a 17-6 career record already, despite still only being 23-years-old. On the feet Lucindo is an aggressive fighter who doesn’t have clean technique, but will look to push forward behind power punches and isn’t afraid to eat shots along the way. The other side of Lucindo’s game is using her physical strength to outwrestle her opponents and maul them on the mat. On the Brazilian regional circuit Lucindo was a notable finisher, mostly via strikes, but aside from a single submission win her other five fights in the UFC have all gone to the scorecards.
Some 17-years older than her opponent, the Now 40-years-old Hill has been very active over the course of her UFC run, yet so far she’s still defying the ageing process quite successfully. Being well conditioned is an important aspect of Hill’s game as though she’s a striker, she’s never had much in the way of stopping power, and so instead has leaned into a high-volume striking style built for outpointing opponents on the scorecards. Hill has good fundamentals and presents a constant moving target as she darts in and out with solid footwork to land her strikes,. As an experienced veteran she can also operate well in the clinch and to her credit has worked to improve her offensive wrestling and grappling over time, though she can still be taken down at times and only has one submission win on her record.
There’s a strong chance this fight goes the distance and I could see it being closely contested along the way. Despite her age Hill should have the higher output in the striking department here, and she’s stronger than you might expect in the clinch, but I do think Lucindo will land the more impactful blows and find some success muscling her way to a few takedowns to help edge out a narrow decision win.
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Andre Fili vs. Christian Rodriguez Prediction
Andre Fili suffered a submission loss last time out that kept him stuck in a pattern of win-one, lose-one that’s been going on for most of his 12-year run in the UFC. Next up he’ll be fighting Christian Rodriguez, who has gone 5-3 in the promotion so far.
Fili is better than his overall 12-11 (+1nc) record in the Octagon might suggests and has beaten the likes of Cub Swanson, Bill Algeo and Charles Jourdain in recent years. Inconsistency has become a habit though, and at 33-years-old has been unable to plot a path to an extended winning streak. The tall, lanky featherweight tends to fight at a measured pace on the feet with nice technique, respectable counter-striking and will make use of his 4″ height and 3″ reach advantage here to land his lengthy punches and kicks from range. Fili can shift up the gears if the situation requires it, and while it’s not his preferred option he can work for takedowns too and is somewhat capable on the mat. However, on the downside Fili is quite hittable and his durability appears to be diminishing, having been KO’d and TKO’d in the past three years, while he was also submitted last time out.
The 27-year-old Rodriguez didn’t receive as much fan-fare as some other up-and-coming talents when he first arrived in the UFC, but has got his revenge for that by becoming a prospect-killer, having ended the lengthy undefeated records of Raul Rosas Jr, Cameron Saaiman, Issac Dulgarian and most recently Austin Bashi in the Octagon. Rodriguez isn’t the biggest, fastest or hardest-hitting 145lb’er around, but he is a sturdy, dependable all-rounder on the feet and on the mat who builds as the fight goes on with well-versed fundamentals and good cardio, while he also staying calm and calculated in the heat of the battle. It’s not always worked out for Rodriguez though as he has been beaten by a couple of experienced veterans in Julian Erosa and Jonathan Pearce, while he narrowly lost out to Melquizael Costa last time out.
This is a chance for Rodriguez to show he can beat a veteran, and I think he’ll take it by sticking to the basics, applying pressure and being more robust in terms of his defense and durability than Fili, leading to a decision victory.
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Miles Johns vs. Jean Matsumoto Prediction
Miles Johns won his first two fights in 2024, but then ended the year with a loss on the scorecards. Now he makes his first appearance of 2025 against Jean Matsumoto, who is in a similar position with two wins last year, but then a split-decision loss at the start of this year’s campaign.
A former LFA bantamweight champion, the 31-year-old Johns has gone 6-3 (+1nc) since joining the UFC in 2019. Johns is a good wrestler, but he likes to show what he can do on the feet too. And he does have respectable power, though that’s more down to putting everything into his punches rather than through good technique, and it does mean he tends to look for one big strike rather than flowing combinations. While he did register back-to-back KO wins earlier in his UFC run, the reality is that overall he only has four finishes via strikes in his 16-fight career. As such, it does still feel like Johns does best when he makes more use of his wrestling, but he doesn’t necessarily see it that way.
The 25-year-old Matsumoto was 16-0 heading into 2025, and though he was beaten in his last fight, the fact it was a short-notice match-up against a well-established veteran in Rob Font that ended in a close split-decision loss means that his stock hasn’t really dropped at all. Matsumoto is a fast, high-volume and well-conditioned muay thai striker who picks out his shots nicely and does good work at close range, though he can eat more shots than he should. Matsumoto hasn’t proven to be a big finisher on the feet, but he does have solid grappling that’s led to six submission wins so far, including finding particular success with guillotine chokes.
I like the promising Matsumoto to get right back to winning ways here with his superior striking and better cardio, leading to a convincing win on the scorecards.
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Eryk Anders vs. Christian Leroy Duncan Prediction
Eryk Anders comes in off back-to-back wins last year to fight Christian Leroy Duncan, who has emerged victorious in two of his last three fights.
It’s been almost six years since Anders last strung together two wins in a row, so at 38-years-old he’ll be feeling positive about where he’s at, although his latest victory was over the retiring Chris Weidman, who was long past his best. A former linebacker, Anders seemed to have good athletic potential when he first arrived in the UFC back in 2017 following a win over a young Brendan Allen in the LFA promotion. However, for the most part he’s failed to live up to expectations since, having posted a 9-8 (+1nc) overall record in the Octagon. Anders has good physicality, capable striking fundamentals and solid power, while he can occasionally mix in some wrestling and has sturdy takedown defense too. On the other hand he can often settle for a low-output approach that’s not always in his best interests. He also has a tendency to keep his hands low and so is more open to getting hit than he should, and though he’s only been finished once via strikes he is becoming more susceptible to getting hurt in his recent fights.
The 30-year-old Duncan is a former Cage Warriors champion who went 7-0 their before arriving in the UFC in 2023, and has since gone 4-2 in the Octagon. Duncan is a dynamic striker with creative flair who manages to maintain respectable accuracy despite his tendency to mix in spinning attacks and flying knees into his frequent attacks. Duncan will have a 4″ reach advantage here to make use of from range, though he’ll also look to deliver lengthy elbows as the distance closes, and he has good uppercuts in close too. So far he’s finished 8 of his 11 wins via strikes and he does also have a submission win on his record, and has shown a willingness to wrestle at times. Duncan likes to be the one leading the action however and is less comfortable when being put on the back foot, while his striking style can leave him open defensively.
As the younger fighter with the more active, versatile striking I favor Duncan to come out on top here on the scorecards.
UFC On ESPN 72: Dolidze vs. Hernandez Prelims
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(Predicted winners in bold)
Julius Walker vs. Raffael Cerqueira
Elijah Smith vs. Toshiomi Kazama
Joselyne Edwards vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Uroš Medić vs. Gilbert Urbina
Gabriella Fernandes vs. Julija Stoliarenko
