The 5 biggest takeaways from UFC on ESPN+ 8, including Jack Hermansson's improbable title hunt

What really mattered at UFC on ESPN+ 8? Here’s a thing or five…

1. How about now, are we ready yet to concede that Hermansson might be for real?

Before he beat Ronaldo Souza in every aspect of the fight, all most people knew of Jack Hermansson (20-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) was that he had tricky submissions and an awkward style, both of which had somehow enabled him to put up wins against seemingly superior athletes on his rise up the ranks.

But surely, accepting a late-notice fight with “Jacare” was overplaying his hand, right? He couldn’t seriously think he belonged in there with the division’s elite fighters … could he?

The next thing you know, he’s hurting Souza with punches, taking him down and showing zero respect to his guard, and generally outworking the perennial middleweight contender en route to a decision win. So how about now, are we ready to take this polite Swede seriously?

He took a risk and made it pay. He keeps telling us that he won’t be satisfied without the title. Beating someone like Souza ought to be the kind of thing that would get us to listen.