Anthony Hernandez Comes Home to Sacramento for Rodrigues Main Event

Anthony Hernandez tops the bill in Sacramento on Saturday, and he'll do it a short drive from the backyard where he keeps his chickens. The #6-ranked middleweight (15-3, 9 submissions) headlines UFC Fight Night against Gregory Rodrigues at Golden 1 Center on August 22, his first fight since a February loss to Sean Strickland ended an eight-fight win streak — the longest run of his career.

The Dunnigan, California native isn't hiding what this means. Selling out arenas in your own state, he says, is the childhood dream. The practical upside is newer: he skipped the hotel, slept at home, and shipped the kids to their grandparents' for fight week. He'd rather have his own peace than a loud lobby, and it's hard to argue with the logic.

The Strickland Connection

Here's the wrinkle. Strickland, who beat Hernandez by third-round TKO and then went on to dethrone Khamzat Chimaev for the title, was one of the guys who helped Hernandez get ready for this one. Hernandez decamped to Las Vegas for an immersive camp alongside Strickland, Edmen Shahbazyan, Punahele Soriano and Robert Valentin. He calls it jumping into the shark pit, and says he's a believer in things happening for a reason.

He's also tired of the loss narrative. Hernandez pointed out that the people grilling him about what went wrong weren't around during the eight-fight streak, and he made clear he doesn't forget how to fight because one result went sideways. At 32, he's lost before. His pitch is simple: a loss doesn't define you, the adjustments do.

What He's Walking Into

Rodrigues is no soft landing. The Brazilian has knocked people out and enters on three straight wins, stepping into his second main event assignment. Hernandez knows the tools are dangerous, but he shrugged that off as par for the middleweight course — everyone's big, everyone's dangerous, everyone gets tired. His plan hasn't changed: stay in a guy's face and drown him.

That grinding style is why nine of his 15 wins come by submission. Hernandez got a hero's welcome in Houston even in defeat, and he expects Golden 1 Center to be louder — everyone from the little towns he grew up in is coming out, repping the 530. When the door shuts, though, he says the job is the only thing on his mind. Prelims start 5pm ET, main card 8pm ET, streaming on Paramount+.