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Last night the UFC informed us of a very exciting middleweight main event coming to us in early 2026, as no. 3 ranked former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland (29-7) is slated to headline UFC Fight Night 268 opposing no. 4 ranked Anthony Hernandez (15-2).
UFC Fight Night 268 is to go down on February 21, 2026, live from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Strickland comes into the bout off his defeat to former champion Dricus du Plessis (UD), a rematch of their first encounter that saw du Plessis the victor in a very close five round affair (SD).
Since 2023 Strickland has gone 4-2, both defeats coming to du Plessis with wins over current no. 2 ranked Nassourdine Imavov (UD), Abus Magomedov (TKO), former champion Israel Adesanya (UD), who he took the title from in one of the bigger upsets in MMA history, and also no. 13 ranked former title challenger Paulo Costa (SD).
Hernandez on the other hand has been on a real hot streak as of late, having won his last eight straight.
This began with a submission victory over perhaps the most credentialed BJJ practitioner to ever grace the octagon in Rodolfo Vieira (guillotine choke), before following it up with wins over the likes of Josh Fremd (UD), Marc-Andre Barriault (arm-triangle choke), Edmen Shahbazyan (TKO), Roman Kopylov (rear naked choke), Michel Pereira (TKO), who was on an eight fight win streak of his own going in, no. 5 ranked Brendan Allen (UD), and no. 12 ranked Roman Dolidze (rear naked choke) back in August.
Many of us have been wanting to see Strickland face fellow former champion Robert Whittaker for some time now, but this is also a very exciting matchup between two top five talents where something’s got to give; Hernandez hasn’t lost since 2020, and Strickland hardly ever gets out-wrestled or out-paced.
Who wins this middleweight main event going down at UFC Houston?
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