Anthony Hernandez Overcomes ‘Sketchy’ Fight Week to Dominate UFC Seattle

Anthony Hernandez had every reason to doubt himself heading into UFC Seattle. A rib injury, a nasty illness, and a weight cut that felt impossible had him questioning whether he’d even make it to fight night. But when it was time to step into the cage, none of that mattered. Hernandez fought through it all, took on Brendan Allen, and not only secured a dominant win, he made history in the process.

Nothing about Anthony Hernandez’s lead-up to UFC Seattle went according to plan. First, he injured his ribs two weeks before the fight. Then, he got sick and had to take antibiotics, which made cutting weight even harder than usual.
“Let’s just say I got off amoxicillin on Friday,” Hernandez said. “I felt like s—, and I'm not going to lie. My ribs were already messed up.”
Trying to shed weight while your body is recovering from illness? Not exactly ideal. “My body was trying to recover, and I was trying to deplete it to make weight. That was f—- sketchy, man. I was freaking out for a second.”
But when you’re a fighter, you don’t really get to say, ‘Hey, let’s reschedule.’ So, he sucked it up, made weight, and stepped into the cage.

Once the fight started, Hernandez did what he does best—he put his opponent on the mat. Over and over again. He landed 45 takedowns against Brendan Allen, breaking the UFC middleweight record previously held by Chris Weidman. By the time the final bell rang, there was no doubt who had won.
“Everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong,” Hernandez said. “And we still managed to gangster it out.”
With seven straight wins and a record-setting performance, Hernandez has earned his spot among the UFC’s best. And when asked who he wants next, his answer was simple: “Honestly, I don’t really give a f—. Give me somebody who’s going to prove that I’m ready for a title shot.”
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Whatever comes next, one thing is clear—if Hernandez can fight through a nightmare of a fight week and still dominate, there aren’t many people in the division who will want to stand across from him.