It was a good weekend for Norwegian mixed martial arts.
Middleweight Jack Hermansson, of Oslo, Norway, scored the biggest win of his career on Saturday, as he out-pointed Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC Fight Night in Sunrise, Florida. Hermansson took the five-round bout on short notice after Souza’s original opponent, Yoel Romero, withdrew.
What’s next for the 185-pound division’s newest contender? Here’s ESPN’s take.
Jack Hermansson, middleweight
Result: Defeated Ronaldo Souza via decision
Next: Yoel Romero
Going into 2019, no one was pegging Hermansson as their breakout candidate — but he’s done just that. A 49-second submission of David Branch in March, followed by a convincing, 25-minute victory over Souza in April.
Many would still consider Hermansson a long shot to win a UFC belt, but he’s earned the right to keep this going. Let’s see how far he can take it. A matchup against Romero, who has only ever lost to undisputed champion Robert Whittaker, would be a clear-cut No. 1 contender bout.
Ronaldo Souza, middleweight
Result: Lost to Jack Hermansson via decision
Next: Retirement
To be clear, if Souza wishes to continue fighting, he’s got plenty left. On any given night, he can compete with any middleweight in the world, and maybe that alone is reason enough to fight on. But personally, I don’t see any truly compelling reason for him to keep going.
Stranger things have happened for sure, but it’s hard to see Souza ever fighting for a UFC championship following this loss. The division’s immediate future involves Whittaker facing Israel Adesanya, at a date TBD. Considering Souza just lost his place in line, what’s the soonest he could reasonably expect to fight for a title? A year? Eighteen months? He turns 40 in December.
Fighting for a UFC belt is the only thing Souza has yet to accomplish in this sport, and while it’s not out of the question that could still happen, asking him to get back in line at this point in his career … man. If you still badly, badly want it, Jacare, go for it. It’s a shame it hasn’t happened for you already. But your legacy is set without it.
Result: Defeated Dmitrii Smoliakov via first-round TKO
Next: Juan Adams
At times, it appears as if the only reason Adams even has a social media account is to constantly berate Hardy. The 27-year-old has made it very clear he does not like Hardy and is rooting against him. He also doesn’t seem to think much of Hardy as a fighter.
Adams already has a fight lined up. It’s next weekend actually, at UFC Fight Night in Ottawa. He’s scheduled to face Arjan Bhullar, and if he wins, you can bet he’ll call out Hardy. And stylistically, I like the idea. Adams has only been fighting professionally since 2017. He’s 4-0, tips the scales at a heavyweight-limit 265 pounds and has legitimate knockout ability.
Result: Defeated Alex Oliveira via decision
Next: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
After beating Oliveira, Perry called out his old pal Darren Till — and that’s a fight a lot of people would love to see, but I don’t think Till is a welterweight anymore. I believe he will (and should) move up to 185 pounds in his next bout.
Dos Santos is not a big name at welterweight, but he’s won seven fights in a row. He’s recorded back-to-back-to-back highlight reel finishes, and he’s won Fight of the Night bonuses three times in his UFC career. This would be an exciting matchup. It would also give Perry a legitimate contender, and dos Santos a chance to step into the spotlight more.
Result: Defeated John Lineker via split decision
Next: Rob Font
In a shallower division, there’s a chance Sandhagen would be rushed into title contention too quickly — but the good thing about bantamweight right now, it’s deep. Even coming off a win against the likes of Lineker, a legitimate top-10 bantamweight, there’s no need to rush Sandhagen into the murderer’s row of guys like Cody Garbrandt, Dominick Cruz, Raphael Assuncao, etc.
Font, 31, is a well-rounded vet whose only UFC losses have come against elite competition in Lineker, Pedro Munhoz and Assuncao.