Outside Source
Anthony Hernandez could be on the verge of a title shot. | Getty/UFC
Anthony Hernandez will get a chance to cement his place as a serious middleweight title contender in his next Octagon appearance.
“Fluffy” will lock horns with former 185-pound kingpin Sean Strickland in the UFC Houston main event on Feb. 21, the promotion announced on Saturday night. The event takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston and airs on Paramount+. A flyweight clash pitting Ode Osbourne against Alibi Idiris was also confirmed for the card.
On a Roll
Hernandez will take an eight-bout winning streak into the matchup with Strickland. The 32-year-old MMA Gold Fight Team product was supposed to face Reinier de Ridder in a potential title eliminator this past October but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. “Fluffy” has bested the likes of Roman Dolidze, Brendan Allen, Michel Pereira and Roman Kopylov during his current winning streak.
Strickland, who recently admitted that he turned down the chance to fight Hernandez in Australia, will return to action for the first time since falling to Dricus Du Plessis in a championship rematch at UFC 312 this past February. The 34-year-old Xtreme Couture representative was suspended for six months after attacking the opponent of a fighter he was cornering at a Tuff-N-Uff event on June 29 in Las Vegas. Strickland scored the biggest win of his career when he upset Israel Adesanya to capture 185-pound gold at UFC 293 in September 2023, but he would lose the belt to Du Plessis in his first title defense one bout later.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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