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.