Jack Hermansson believes he’s become far too familiar with Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) APEX Facility since it started hosting UFC Fight Night events in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The APEX will hit 90 events in 2024 and has slowly faded with its event count, but remains a fixture in the promotion’s calendar. This past weekend (Feb. 10, 2024), UFC Vegas 86 saw the perennial Middleweight contender, Hermansson, compete at the APEX for the fourth time in his last six Octagon appearances.
Hermansson, 35, upset his up-and-coming opponent, Joe Pyfer, by unanimous decision but wants that to be his last time in the venue for a fight.
“I’ve had enough of it,” Hermansson said on The MMA Hour. “I don’t know how many fights I’ve had there now, and on top of that I had the fights during COVID without the audience, so I’m just sick of it.
“I want big arenas, big crowds. Something else,” he continued. “It’s cool to watch fights in the APEX, and it’s kind of cool on TV as well with the sound and everything, you can hear so much. But the experience is nowhere near to be fighting in front of a huge crowd.”
Success hasn’t been too difficult to find for Hermansson in the APEX as his latest victory brought his record to an even 2-2 (24-8 overall). While “The Joker” has his preference, the fight is the most important part, and next, he hopes to land a duel with his fellow recent APEX Middleweight victor, Nassourdine Imavov.
“I’m so turned on, in a way, when I’m in there,” Hermansson said. “So I don’t think it affects my performance, but I do know it affects how enjoyable it is. Especially after you win a fight, to soak in that experience from the crowd. So the total experience is not that great without the crowd.
“The most important thing is the opponent,” he concluded. “So if it’s a good opponent, I’m not going to turn it down. But I really would prefer to fight somewhere else.”
For complete UFC Vegas 86 results, coverage and highlights, click HERE.