Sean Strickland vs Anthony Hernandez headline in UFC’s return to Houston

UFC returns to Houston, Texas for the first time in four years with a high-stakes middleweight bout that sees former champion and current No. 3 ranked contender Sean Strickland lock horns with No. 4 Anthony Hernandez.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT: STRICKLAND vs. HERNANDEZ takes place Saturday, February 21 in Houston, Texas at Toyota Center. The prelims will air at 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET, followed by the main card airing at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET. All bouts will stream live on Paramount+.

Strickland (29-7, fighting out of Corona, Calif.) returns to action looking to regain his momentum. A former champion of the 185-pound division, the American rose to the top of his weight class by taking out Israel Adesanya, Paulo Costa, and Nassourdine Imavov. Strickland now sets forth to deliver a statement performance against Hernandez and put himself back on the path to UFC gold.

Hernandez (15-2 1NC, fighting out of Dunnigan, Calif.) aims for an emphatic win to kick off the year. Currently on an impressive eight-fight win streak, Hernandez has been dominant of late, collecting impressive wins over Brendan Allen, Roman Dolidze, and Michel Pereira. He aims to dispose of Strickland and solidify his spot as the next title contender.

Additional bouts on the card include:

No. 14 ranked UFC featherweight Dan Ige (19-10, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Halewiwa, Hawaii) collides with Melquizael Costa (25-7, fighting out of Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil)

Heavyweight fireworks are set to go off as No. 7 ranked Serghei Spivac (17-6, fighting out of Chisinau, Republic of Moldova) faces off with Ante Delija (26-7, fighting out of Dubrovnik, Croatia)

Middleweight action sees Dana White’s Contender Series signee Zachary Reese (10-2, fighting out of Houston, Texas by way of Shiner, Texas) collide with fan-favorite Michel Pereira (31-14, 2 NC, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.)

Dana White’s Contender Series contract winners Jordan Leavitt (12-3, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) and Yadier del Valle (10-0, fighting out of Houston, Texas) go toe-to-toe at featherweight

Welterweight action sees Austin Vanderford (13-3, fighting out of Portland, Ore.) take on Dana White’s Contender Series alumni Jean Paul Lebosnoyani (9-2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.)

Alden Coria (11-3, fighting out of Houston, Texas) faces Luis Gurule (10-2, fighting out of Sheridan, Colo.) at flyweight

No. 12 ranked bantamweight contender Nora Cornolle (9-3, fighting out of Epinay sur Seine, France) squares off with No. 14 Joselyne Edwards No. 14 (16-6, fighting out of Panama City, Panama

Dana White’s Contender Series welterweight contract winners Jacobe Smith (10-0, fighting out of Dallas, Texas) and Seokhyeon Ko (13-2, fighting out of Seoul, South Korea) look to steal the show

Flyweight veteran Ode’ Osbourne (13-9 1NC, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Milwaukee, Wisc.) battles Alibi Idiris (11-1, fighting out of Aktobe, Kazakhstan)

Bantamweight contest sees The Ultimate Fighter season 30 tournament winner Juliana Miller (5-3, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) takes on Carli Judice (5-2, fighting out of Lafayette, La.)

Dana White’s Contender Series Chidi Njokuani (25-11, fighting out of Garland, Texas) clashes with Carlos Leal (22-7, fighting out Curitiba, Parana, Brazil) at welterweight

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