UFC Houston : The Anthony Hernandez vs Sean Strickland fight was a trap by the UFC and we bought the bait
Well that was a wild UFC Houston fight card that surprised a lot of MMA fans. But probably not the oddsmakers.
A lot of MMA fans bought exactly what the UFC was selling when it came to Anthony Hernandez. The promotion pushed the surging contender narrative hard, and too many people forgot who was standing across from him in UFC Fight Night 267. A former champion and someone insanely tough to finish in the form of Sean Strickland.
The UFC leaned into the eight-fight win streak, the pressure style, and the “new blood at 185” storyline of Anthony Hernandez. What didn’t get emphasized enough was that Sean Strickland had over 25 UFC fights, multiple five-round main events, and championship experience under the brightest lights.
This wasn’t prospect vs. gatekeeper, no matter how the buildup tried to frame it. This was a former champion with elite fight IQ facing a hot contender who was being positioned as the next big thing.
From Round 1, you could see the difference between marketing momentum and real Octagon maturity. Strickland took the center immediately, established the jab, and started stacking up significant strikes at his usual clip of over five landed per minute.
Hernandez was supposed to drown him with pressure and chaos. strikes and grappling. Instead, he kept walking into straight shots and controlled volume while Strickland calmly dictated range like he’s done for years.
The UFC sold aggression and momentum, but they couldn’t manufacture cage IQ. Strickland defended the level changes, stayed disciplined, and forced Hernandez to reset over and over until the pace started breaking him down.
By the third round, the damage was visible and the energy shift was obvious. A brutal knee to the body set up a composed finishing sequence, and the TKO at 2:33 of Round 3 ended the hype in definitive fashion.
That eight-fight win streak? Snapped. The fast-track middleweight contender storyline? Paused.
This is what happens when promotional buzz outweighs context. Strickland’s durability, five-round experience, and elite defensive awareness were always going to be a problem for someone who hadn’t faced that level of composure.
The UFC can build narratives, but they can’t rewrite experience. And in Houston, Strickland reminded everyone that you don’t skip steps in the middleweight division just because the hype machine says it’s your time. There are levels for a reason and we all bought the bait. As usual fair play to the UFC and oddsmakers.
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