Anthony Hernandez delivered a suffocating performance, pounding Michel Pereira for more than 20 minutes before suffering a fifth-round stoppage in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Aside from a front kick to the torso in the opening seconds that briefly injured Hernandez, “Fluffy” was a swarm of violence that never gave the Brazilian a chance to breathe, let alone fight.

After the kick to the body, Hernandez (13-2) quickly gathered his strength and went to work, his trademark smoke offense giving Pereria little room to maneuver. In the second round, he was caught in what appeared to be a deep guillotine by Pereira, but Hernandez maneuvered out of danger and pinned Pereria. The swarming offense continued from the UFC's 13th-ranked middleweight as he switched from submission attempts to ground-and-pound without stopping.

By the third round, Pereira (31-12) – the UFC's No. 14 ranked middleweight – was exhausted and could only survive the constant barrage of punishment. Pereira offered little in return and aimed for a moral victory by making it to the final bell. But Hernandez wasn't interested in hearing the judges' scorecards and unleashed a barrage of punishment in the final round, including a nasty elbow that split Pereira above his eyebrow.

Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight after 2:38 minutes.

The dominant performance included over 15 minutes of control time, 197 significant strikes and a division-leading 29 takedown attempts for Hernandez.

The stoppage extended his winning streak to six and stopped Pereria's winning streak at eight.