Anthony Hernandez vs. Sean Strickland will take place in a middleweight bout earlier tonight (Saturday, February 21, 2026) at UFC Houston at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Strickland performed well and returned to the winning column with a surprising stoppage win.
Strickland got going early with Hernandez applying pressure. “Mao Mao” attacks the front legs and stabs the body, trying to close the distance. Minutes into the fight, Strickland’s jabs began to land smoothly. On the back foot, Strickland landed a nice right hand that caught his opponent’s attention. Hernandez flustered with a combination of punches and then went down on the first attack, but his shot was blocked. Several more right hands landed right on the wrestler, briefly tripping the former champion. All in all, it was a competitive first frame, with Strickland clearly winning the first half before Hernandez landed late.
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Strickland held on and entered the second period. Hernandez looks for a right hand but falls behind in the fight. Strickland’s attack range isn’t very far, but it’s definitely the best weapon between the two. “Fluffy” attempts a takedown and then lands an uppercut on the break. Strickland scored beautifully with his back foot, 1-2. There was some crucial work in the final minute, but neither man had much energy to end a clear round for Strickland.
Hernandez turned up the pressure in the third quarter, creating more exchanges. Shaggy goes to the body to hurt him and Strickland turns up the heat! The former champion attacked, scrambling and throwing a flurry of punches to stay on his injured opponent. Hernandez tried to swing back, but he eventually collapsed under the accumulated damage.
Without a doubt, this is one of the best pieces of Strickland’s career. He was very effective with his jab and stopped Hernandez’s vaunted takedowns with relative ease thanks to his excellent body positioning and cage awareness. He landed a few right hands early, but Strickland quickly adjusted his defense and struggled to land while keeping his offense going.
To his credit, this is also a more aggressive Strickland. He threw to his right more often to great effect, and didn’t back down from the pack when he hurt “Mao Mao”‘s body. The middleweight champion’s profile is in a strange spot right now, with Kamzat rumored to be leaving the division, but there’s no denying that Strickland is back in the game after this impressive win.
Result: Sean Strickland defeats Anthony Hernandez via third round knockout
For complete UFC Houston results and detailed fight information, click here.
