It took Hermansson time to get his UFC career going, but things
worked out well for “The Joker.” Initially an unorthodox striker
before suddenly pivoting to a ground-and-pound specialist,
Hermansson hung around the midcard until a sudden breakout early in
2019. Hermansson scored a submission win over David
Branch, then stepped in less than a month later for a main
event win over Ronaldo
Souza, going from afterthought to potential contender in about
four weeks. Representing both Sweden and Norway, the UFC saw
Hermansson as a potential star for the Scandinavian market, making
him the A-side in the main event of the promotion’s debut in
Copenhagen. After a strong start against Jared
Cannonier, Hermansson hit a wall and found himself knocked out
in the second round. Hermansson has remained just below the
middleweight elite in the years since. He is well-rounded enough to
take care of most opponents, but the likes of Marvin
Vettori and Sean
Strickland have been durable and consistent enough to leave
Hermansson without much of an opening to work his way into their
fights. For the second straight outing, Hermansson finds himself
with a late-notice opponent change that does not allow him to build
much momentum. A high-profile pairing with Darren Till
in July instead turned into a win over Chris
Curtis, while this time around, Derek
Brunson gets replaced with Roman
Dolidze. The 34-year-old Dolidze is still a hard fighter to
nail down in terms of what he brings to the table, but he has
certainly proven himself to be a tricky and dangerous opponent thus
far. The Georgian made his UFC debut as a light heavyweight
prospect who leaned on his athleticism. Dolidze’s approach did not
always make the most sense, but he would throw out enough wild
strikes and high-risk submissions that something would eventually
work given his speed and power. Then he cut down to middleweight in
2021 and seemingly reinvented himself as a low-output grinder,
particularly in a hideous decision victory over Laureano
Staropoli. Dolidze has split the difference in 2022. While he
is not a consistently effective fighter from minute to minute, he
has succeeded in finding some fight-ending violence. He broke
Kyle
Daukaus’ face with a knee in June, then hobbled Phil Hawes
with a kneebar before finding a first-round knockout in October.
Dolidze could certainly continue that run here—Hermansson does
occasionally get knocked out by elite athletes such as Cannonier
and Thiago
Santos—but it is difficult to bet on his low-output and often
aimless style against such a hard-nosed and consistent fighter,
particularly since his typical wrestling threat does not figure to
make much hay. It is a risky fight, but the pick is Hermansson via
decision.
UFC News & Features
