Anthony Hernandez sees brighter things ahead after losing via knockout to Sean Strickland in Saturday’s UFC Houston main event.
The loss snapped Hernandez’s eight-fight win streak, which dated back to 2020, and also bumped him back in the UFC middleweight title picture for now. Hernandez aimed to score a big win over a former champion, but it was Strickland who commanded the majority of the action before putting Hernandez away with strikes in the third round.
Following the defeat, Hernandez took to Instagram to release a statement.
“First things first, thank you guys so much everyone who came out,” Hernandez said in an Instagram Story. “Showing me a lot of love, that was f*cking awesome. Players f*ck up. I mean, I was on an eight-fight win streak. Felt like things were going smooth until I got hit with a f*cking body shot. Shit happens. Part of the game. Took six years for someone to finally beat me. I’ll be back.”
Hernandez also shared a post giving Strickland credit for the win.
Thank you for the love Houston ! the [sic] engery was unreal. Congratulations to [Strickland] he was the better man tonight much respect. I’ll be back better then ever
Despite some fiery words being exchanged in the lead-up to the contest, Strickland and Hernandez showed each other respect during the bout, and afterwards Strickland praised Hernandez in his post-fight interview. Instead, Strickland directed his ire towards undefeated middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, calling him out to accept a title challenge.
Hernandez has to wait for his turn after suffering his first defeat in almost six years. Dominant wins over Roman Dolidze, Brendan Allen, and Michel Pereira had “Fluffy” on the championship track, but bad luck struck this past October when injury forced him out of the UFC Vancouver main event opposite Reinier de Ridder. An impressive performance against de Ridder (who went on to lose to replacement Allen) might have made Hernandez the No. 1 contender, but instead he finds himself with a rare loss and possibly a long journey back to the front of the line.