Houston — Middleweight Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, in stark contrast to UFC Houston opponent Sean Strickland, isn’t one to run off on a tangent, or talk on end about the controversies of the day.
And so it was no surprise to see surging middleweight contender appear in a rather abbreviated media day session on Wednesday.
“I think it’s going to be a great fight, I think it’s going to be a violent fight, and I think this is going to set me up perfectly for my title,” Hernandez (15-2, 1NC) told Cageside Press and other media outlets on hand in Houston about his latest match-up, with former champion Strickland.
Hernandez sits at #4 in the UFC’s 185lb rankings, Strickland one spot ahead of him. That leaves only Nassourdine Imavov and ex-champ Dricus Du Plessis above them, with Imavov likely next in line for a title shot one way or another.
Asked about being Strickland’s target, Hernandez had another way of looking at things. “I don’t give a f*ck. The way I see it, is I kind of feel like the boogeyman. Call my name, and if you’re in front of me, I’m f*cking coming after you. It is what it is. It’s a business, I’m happy a former champion thinks he can take me out, so I’m happy to prove him wrong.”
What he expects from Strickland in the fight itself, meanwhile, is “the same sh*t he always does. Walks forward, throw teeps, jabs, he’ll get pissed off, throw bombs. I think he’ll try to wrestle me, because his Du Plessis fight didn’t coach well and his coach has talked about it. I think he’s going to try to probably show that he’s a better mixed martial artist, but I’m ready for everything. So I’m excited.”
Anthony Hernandez, sitting on an eight-fight win streak, does feel a win this Saturday lands him a title shot. Who it’s against is another matter, and it seems he doesn’t believe it will necessarily be against current champion Khamzat Chimaev.
“I dunno what Khamzat’s doing, but it looks like he wants to go up to 205, so hopefully they go like ‘yo let’s get a new champ up in this b*tch’ and they set up the fight.”
As far as fighting a former champion for the first time, “it’ll be dope, but I’m not like ‘oh my God.’ It’s just another guy in front of me,” said Hernandez, who later summed it up by saying “I just want the title. The title changes your life. I really don’t give a f*ck who I fight, to be honest. I’m just here to get paid for being violent.”
Watch the full UFC Houston media day appearance by Anthony Hernandez above.
