Anthony Hernandez didn't take too kindly to Sean Strickland's method of trying to promote their fight.
When Saturday's UFC Fight Night 267 headliner (Paramount+) between Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) at Toyota Center in Houston was announced, Strickland posted a photoshopped image on Instagram, where he's posing as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, and Hernandez dressed in traditional Mexican clothes.
"Honestly, I laughed when I seen that sh*t," Hernandez told New York Post Sports. "I was like, if that's the best you've got to get in my head, it's going to be a long f*cking night. That sh*t does not faze me. It's f*cked up, yeah, and I don't like seeing sh*t like that.
"I don't like that my people have got to go through sh*t like that, but it's f*cking life and that's the reality of it. Some people are just dirtbags and like to bring it up, but I'm excited for the fight. Like I said, I hope he keeps that same f*cking online energy in the f*cking cage because I'm going to f*cking torture him."
With a big latino community in Houston, Hernandez says he's been receiving plenty of support.
"For sure, I've been getting a lot of messages like, 'F*ck him up, do this,' but at the end of the day I've got a lot of people behind me, which is a f*cking beautiful blessing and I love that," Hernandez said. "But I'm going to just go out there and do what I do best. I'm not focused on trying to take him out of there fast in the first round.
"I don't mind f*cking torturing a motherf*cker for all 25 minutes. I really enjoy hurting people, as f*cked up as it sounds. It's therapeutic as hell to me. So I don't know, I'm going to come and if I can get the finish, awesome. If not, then I'm going to f*cking enjoy it."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Houston: Hernandez says he'll 'torture' Strickland for racist post