Middleweights aiming to cement their position at the top of the division to kick off the year meet in the main event as Sean Strickland squares off with Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez.
The former champion Strickland returns for the first time since his failed bid to reclaim the title from Dricus Du Plessis last year in Sydney, Australia. The acerbic American was outworked in that contest and didn’t appear to have the same drive and tenacity as usual, but a year off to recharge the batteries and a chance to halt Hernandez’s extending winning streak should be all Strickland needs to lock back in and remind people why he’s one of the best middleweights on the planet.
Hernandez has just kept steadily climbing the divisional ladder one rung at a time since the start of 2021, pushing his winning streak to eight with a pair of victories in 2025 while reaching No. 4 in the rankings. After out-hustling Brendan Allen in Seattle last February, the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grad manhandled Roman Dolidze in August, breaking his will before mercilessly choking him out midway through the fourth round.
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What is so fascinating about this fight is that in terms of their approaches, Strickland and Hernandez are similar; both like to come forward, dictate the pace, work at a high clip, and essentially drown their opponents. When two fighters like that square off, a few things can happen: they can meet in the middle and get into a good old-fashioned donnybrook; they can take turns leading until one really seizes command, or one can grab hold of the fight early and impose their will.
What is unlikely to happen is that they don’t mix things up and we get some kind of odd stalemate and staring match; there is too much at stake for that to transpire, plus it’s not in either man’s nature. This is going to be fun, no matter how it shakes out and will have an immediate impact on the landscape in the middleweight ranks as well.
