Hernandez established himself as an entertainingly aggressive
fighter through his first three UFC fights, but it sure seemed like
the promotion was setting him up for failure with a February 2021
pairing against Rodolfo
Vieira. A lot of Hernandez’s success comes through pressing the
action and taking the fight everywhere, which figured to result in
his getting submitted by one of the best grapplers on the roster
once things hit the mat. Instead, “Fluffy” authored a shocking
upset, surviving with Vieira on the ground as the Brazilian got
completely exhausted, at which point Hernandez clamped down on a
choke for an improbable submission win of his own. Injuries kept
Hernandez from following up on that momentum for over a year, and
his return saw him win another entertaining affair against late
replacement Josh Fremd
in a bout that resulted in constant shifts in momentum. It should
be a similar story against Barriault. A successful regional fighter
in his native Quebec, Barriault’s dependence on durability and
winning wars of attrition figured to hit a bumpy road in the UFC;
and indeed, “Power Bar” started his Octagon campaign with three
straight losses. However, 2021 saw Barriault finally turn things
around in his preferred manner, outlasting Abu Azaitar
and Dalcha
Lungiambula in entertainingly grimy wins. That made it a bit
disheartening when Barriault suffered the first knockout of his
career against Chidi
Njokuani. Even with his recent improvements, Barriault’s
success hinges greatly on his toughness, and getting sparked in 16
seconds was a bad omen that reduced durability could wipe out all
those gains. Even so, Barriault rebounded well in a subsequent win
over Jordan
Wright in April and should be back in solid form in this
assignment. Still, while this figures to be another Hernandez fight
that sees both men combine huge moments of offense with defensive
lapses, the American should be able to set the higher pace and wear
Barriault out in the later rounds, particularly as the better
wrestler. The pick is Hernandez via decision.
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