Jack Hermansson shocked former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, pulling off a decision win in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 8 Saturday night.
Hermansson, who replaced Yoel Romero for the fight, swept the scorecards, winning 49-46, 48-47, 48-47.
The main card aired live on ESPN+ from Sunrise, Florida and the BB&T Center.
Hermansson pushed his win streak to four in a row with the upset, improving to 20-4 overall in his career. The loss dropped Souza to 26-7 and just 2-3 over his last five fights.
In the co-main event, former NFL all pro Greg Hardy finished Dmitrii Smoliakov in the first round with strikes. Hardy had lost his Octagon debut to Allen Crowder after landing an illegal knee this past January.
Mike Perry withstood Alex Oliveira, pulling out a decision victory by sweeping the scorecards by matching 29-28s.
Glover Teixeira survived an early onslaught by Ion Cutelaba, locking in a rear-naked choke midway through the second round to score the victory. Teixeira, a former UFC title contender, is now 3-1 over his last four fights.
Cory Sandhagen earned a key victory over John Lineker via split decision and Roosevelt Roberts kicked off the ESPN+ main card with a convincing decision win over Thomas Gifford.
Four prelims were part of the ESPN broadcast including Takashi Sato’s second round finish of Ben Saunders. Sato scored the win in the welterweight division after rocking Saunders with elbows.
Augusto Sakai claimed a split decision over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, ex-UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza turned back the challenge of Virna Jandiroba and Gilbert Burns choked out Mike Davis in the second round.
On the early prelims that aired on ESPN2, Jim Miller locked in a rear-naked choke to submit Jason Gonzalez in the first round, Angela Hill topped Jodie Esquibel and Dhiego Lima bested Court McGee.
Complete results from UFC on ESPN+ 8: Jacare vs. Hermansson can be found below:
Jack Hermansson def. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Greg Hardy def. Dmitrii Smoliakov via TKO (strikes) at 2:15 of Round 1
Mike Perry def. Alex Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Glover Teixeira def. Ion Cutelaba via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:37 of Round 2
Cory Sandhagen def. John Lineker via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Roosevelt Roberts def. Thomas Gifford via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Takashi Sato def. Ben Saunders via TKO (strikes) at 1:18 of Round 2
Augusto Saki def. Andrei Arlovski via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Carla Esparza def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Gilbert Burns def. Mike Davis via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:15 of Round 2
Jim Miller def. Jason Gonzalez via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:12 of Round 1
Angela Hill def. Jodie Esquibel via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Dhiego Lima def. Court McGee via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)