In addition to a unanimous decision defeat, “The Joker” revealed in an Instagram post following the bout that he suffered fractures to his toe and face in Saturday’s middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“Broken toe and broken eyesocket but not a broken spirit,” Hermansson wrote. “The goal remains the same. Thank you for your support.”
Hermansson demonstrated great resilience in defeat, as he was dropped and nearly finished by Vettori in the opening stanza. The 32-year-old Swede was able to survive that initial onslaught and remain competitive until the final horn. All told, Hermansson and Vettori combined to set a UFC middleweight record with 286 significant strikes landed, an effort that earned the combatants “Fight of the Night” honors.
Hermansson has lost two of his last three promotional appearances after a four-bout winner streak from May 2018 to April 2019 established him as a person of interest at 185 pounds. He owns notable wins over Kelvin Gastelum, Ronaldo Souza and David Branch during his UFC tenure.