What's next for Hermansson?
UFC on ESPN+ 8 has just wrapped up and what we saw impressed us all. Jack Hermansson was facing Ronaldo Souza in a fight that came out of Yoel Romero's contraction of Pneumonia. The feat was already tough, but it was made even more difficult in prospect by the fact that Hermansson was the replacement fighter. Jacare is known for his dominant ground game. However, this was up for dispute on Saturday night after Jack Hermansson took the fight to the ground on multiple occasions, while outstriking the Brazilian on the feet also.
The performance was a surprise to most, but not to ''The Joker'' himself:
''I think a lot of people were sleeping on me.'' He said in a post-fight interview. It didnt stop here though, as Hermansson now believes he is in line for a Middleweight title shot given the circumstances. He also spoke after the fight, ''I think me saving this card and taking this fight on short notice, I think I should get rewarded for that, as well.''
There is no doubt that his stock has risen over the weekend, but is there a case for the Joker to contend for the belt? The Middleweight division is stacked and currently holds an interim champion in Israel Adesanya, after UFC 236. There seem to be fighters that are more in the forefront of Sean Shelby's matchmaking decisions. However, this does make a strong case for the Swede moving forward.