Tonight’s UFC Houston event was headlined by a key middleweight matchup between Sean Strickland and Anthony Hernandez.
Strickland (30-7 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Dricus Du Plessis in a fight for the promotion’s middleweight title 12 months ago at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia. Prior to that setback, the former middleweight title holder had defeated Paulo Costa by way of split decision at UFC 302.
Meanwhile, Anthony Hernandez (15-3 MMA) entered tonight’s headliner on an eight-fight winning streak, his most recent victory coming over Roman Dolidze via submission this past August. ‘Fluffy’ had finished four of his previous five fights, with his lone decision win in that stretch coming against Brendan Allen.
Tonight’s UFC Houston main event proved to be a return to glory for the promotion’s former middleweight champ in Sean Strickland. The 34-year-old was able to utilize his snapping left jab to overwhelm and frustrate Hernandez throughout the opening two rounds. Then, in round three, Strickland landed a crushing knee to the body that clearly hurt ‘Fluffy’. Smelling blood, Sean rushed in with a flurry of punches that resulted in Anthony going down and the eventual referee stoppage. It was an amazing showing and after the victory Stickland proceeded to callout current 185lbs title holder Khamzat Chimaev.
Official UFC Houston Results: Sean Strickland def. Anthony Hernandez via TKO at 2:33 of Round 3
Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Strickland vs. Hernandez’ below:
24th ufc fight. 9th main event. Former world champion. Current number 3. Stats! Who has stats? pic.twitter.com/LKVfLNwQ9s
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 22, 2026
10-9 Strickland in a very competitive round
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 22, 2026
Sean really established the jab the first round and caught him with overhands. Round 1 Strickland. #UFCHouston
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 22, 2026
Fluffy needs to cut him off with high kicks or body kicks
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 22, 2026
Sean looking great in round 2. #UFCHouston
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) February 22, 2026
Fluffy’s going to have to take more chances off his fakes and more takedown attempts. 2-0 Desean #UFCHouston
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 22, 2026
Post-fight reactions to Sean Strickland defeating Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston:
Fluffy krptonite is the body
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 22, 2026
Congrats @SStricklandMMA , post fight speech about to be…
— Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) February 22, 2026
Sean looked lock in nasty work just was a step a head all night
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) February 22, 2026
That’s what nothing but hours and hours of sparring gets you. Just show up and shit spar everyday and voila! Overthink nothing. Who gives a fuck! Haha! Sean is great!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 22, 2026
HOLY F*CK. #ufcparamount
— Maxx Crosby (@CrosbyMaxx) February 22, 2026
Who would you like to see Strickland fight next following his TKO victory over Hernandez this evening in Texas? Share your thoughts in the comment section Penn Nation!