Anthony Hernandez is keeping a cool – and calculating – head as he prepares to fight the always controversial Sean Strickland.
Saturday’s UFC Houston main event sees Hernandez face Strickland in a five-round main event that could determine the next challenger for middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. Ahead of the matchup, Strickland put up a racist post directed at Hernandez, depicting himself as an ICE agent and Hernandez in stereotypical Mexican garb, including a sombrero and a poncho. The photoshopped image made light of the ongoing turmoil occurring in Minnesota as the city deals with ICE’s aggressive deportation efforts.
Hernandez wasn’t bothered by Strickland’s post, but warns the former champion that if he wants to make things ugly outside of the cage, he better be prepared for what happens inside.
“Honestly, I laughed when I seen that shit,” 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 shit does not faze me. It’s f*cked up, yeah, and I don’t like seeing shit like that. I don’t like that my people have got to go through shit 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.”
Even if Hernandez has chosen not to take offense, he appreciates that the Mexican community has rallied behind him following Strickland’s post. Knowing he’s representing so many people of shared heritage only motivates him further to put the hurt on Strickland.
“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.”
Hernandez is currently on an eight-fight win streak and an impressive performance against Strickland all but guarantees him a middleweight title shot. With better luck, Hernandez would likely be booked to challenge Chimaev already, but an injury forced him out of a main event bout opposite Reinier de Ridder at UFC Vancouver this past October and he now finds himself having to push his way back to the front of the contender line again.
As he faces a former UFC champion for the first time, Hernandez isn’t putting extra pressure on himself.
“No, it’s the same shit,” Hernandez said. “I tell everyone I’m not where I want to be. I want the f*cking title, so it’s just another fight. Every fight is big as you make it. Yeah, it’s a big fight, but it’s just another one.”
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