Sean Strickland He said he expected a “devastating” battle. Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez They played in Houston on Saturday, and it was a disastrous result for their opponents.
Strickland (30-7) stopped Hernandez (15-3) with strikes at 2:33 of the third round, scoring his first knockout victory in more than two years. This was Strickland’s first appearance since coming up short in the middleweight title fight. doricas du plessis The loss was widely considered one of the worst performances of Strickland’s career, but he more than made up for it on Saturday.
“I know we exchanged words at the weigh-in,” Strickland said, referring to his heated exchange with Hernandez earlier in the week. “But after that battle, I feel like I’m a Mexican. It was a terrible war. I can’t thank Fluffy enough. He’s the definition of a man. To be honest, Fluffy is the man I want to be. He’s married, a father, a hard worker. He’s a better man than I expected.”
Strickland, 34, entered the fight ranked No. 3 in the UFC’s middleweight division, but was too far behind to end Hernandez’s eight-fight winning streak. But he flipped that script from the opening round, tackling Hernandez with his infamous jab and footwork.
The 17-year veteran predicted it would probably take a back-and-forth fourth and fifth round to defeat Hernandez, but instead Strickland hurt Hernandez with a knee to the body in the third round. He finished the match with a combination of body punches and uppercuts.
Strickland said in a recent interview that he has no intention of competing for the title anytime soon, given that he is the current champion. Khamzat ChimaevAlthough he had a history of inactivity, after Saturday’s win he asked for an opportunity anyway.
“If Chimaev comes off the bench, I want one,” Strickland said. “I don’t know what will happen to him, but that’s what I want.”
According to UFC stats, Strickland outscored Hernandez in total strikes 92-62 and defended Hernandez’s only takedown attempt. Strickland, who fought from Las Vegas, admitted he missed the second half of 2025 after fighting du Plessis with a shoulder injury last year and then being suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his involvement in a post-fight altercation at a local event in June.
Maybe the vacation was good for him. His last finish before Saturday was a second-round knockout. Abs Magomedov For the 32-year-old Hernandez, a winning streak that lasted until February 2021 came to an end. Hernandez lost his next match. kevin holland In May 2020, he won 8 consecutive races and finished 6th.
“I thought it would work, I thought it would work.” [one round each]“But maybe I got sloppy and got caught with my knee up the middle,” Hernandez said. We will go back to the drawing board and improve. You saw what happened the last time I lost, I got better. ”