Former UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland believes he has enough in his tank to stop Anthony Hernandez as he marks his return to the Octagon at UFC Houston on Sunday morning.
Main card set to commence at 3am (CAT, GMT+2)
Strickland, 34, remains a star attraction in the UFC given his brash approach to high level fights throughout his career. Known for his relentless pressure and accurate striking abilities, Strickland will lace the UFC gloves for the first time in over a year following his loss against ex-Middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis at UFC312 on 9 February 2025.
The Patriotic American claimed the UFC Middleweight title in September 2023 after a unanimous decision win over Israel Adesanya at UFC293 in Sydney Australia. However, However, Strickland’s reign at the top was short-lived after suffering a split decision defeat to DDP in their first fight that took place at UFC297 in January 2024.
Strickland’s (29-7-0) only other win since claiming UFC gold came against Paulo Costa in June 2024, where he walked away with a split decision victory at UFC302 in New Jersey.
Speaking ahead of the fight, Strickland believes that he will stop Hernandez despite predicting a grappling-heavy bout.
“I wanted fluffy,” Strickland said.
“I never did much grappling later on in my career, so its more of a test that I wanted and the guy is on a six, eight fight win streak so what better of a name do you have to beat.
“I do way more wrestling than striking in my camp, really just to have the gas tank to wrestle for five rounds. Generally, he’ll take guys down and break them but I’m not someone who breaks.
“I think I’m going to out-grapple him. I think we will grapple, I’m not the hardest guy to take down. It will be a five round grappling match, then I will TKO him in the fourth or fifth.”
Hernandez (15-2-0) will head into his next UFC assignment following a Round 4 submission victory against Roman Dolidze at UFC on ESPN in Las Vegas on 9 August.
The 32-year-old climbed up the UFC Middleweight rankings in recent years, given his eight-fight win streak before his first bout of the year. As an astute grappler, Hernandez claimed four submission wins in his last six fights, namely against, Rodolfo Vieira, Marc-Andre Barriault, Roman Kopylov and Dolidze.
While Hernandez is comfortable on the canvas, the rising star also claimed two technical knockout wins over Edmen Shahbazyan and Michel Pereira during this period.
With Hernandez set for one of the toughest tasks of his career, the 32-year-old expressed that Strickland sets up an interesting fight from a stylistic point of view.
“You know me. I find my same ways always there, man,” Hernandez said.
“I'm telling you, the way he fights, I think it's like stylistically the perfect fight for me. I think he's very good, and I respect the f—k out of him.
“I know he's tough. I know what he brings to the table, but I think I'm different. I believe that I'm worthy to be the world champion.”
UFC Fight Night Main Card:
Sean Strickland v Anthony Hernandez (Main event – Middleweight)
Geoff Neal v Uros Medic (Co-main – Welterweight)
Dan Ige v Melquizael Costa (Featherweight)
Serghei Spivac v Ante Delija (Heavyweight)
Jacobe Smith v Josiah Harrel (Welterweight)
Zachary Reese v Michel Pereira (Middleweight)