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AgentMMA fuses strike pace, reaction data, and grappling leverage to map the fight flow.AI analysis of striking, defense, and grappling to project the fight outcome.
UFC Record Breakdown
This is wild. Anthony Hernandez just headlined a Fight Night in August, choked out Roman Dolidze in the fourth round, and now he's getting thrown in there with Sean Strickland. The fight was officially announced during the UFC 323 PPV broadcast, and Fluffy's on a crazy run right now with five straight wins. He's finishing dudes in ways that make you wince. That ground and pound on Michel Pereira in the fifth round? Nasty elbows that had everyone talking for weeks. Strickland's coming off back to back title fights with Dricus Du Plessis, and yeah, he lost both of them by decision. But here's the thing, Sean's still one of the most dangerous strikers at 185. That jab is relentless. He threw 402 strikes against Paulo Costa and just broke him down over five rounds. He's not flashy, but he's suffocating when he gets his rhythm going. Turns out he was dealing with a shoulder injury during that second Du Plessis fight at UFC 312, but the UFC pushed for the rematch anyway.
If Hernandez gets top position, those elbows come fast, but Strickland's most dangerous in rounds two through four when his volume peaks.
The matchup is fascinating because Hernandez is a volume machine who wants to drag you into deep water and drown you there. He landed 219 strikes and hit 10 takedowns against Pereira, controlled him for over 15 minutes. Strickland's takedown defense is solid. He stuffed everything Costa threw at him, but Hernandez is relentless. If Fluffy can get this to the mat, those elbows from mount are terrifying. If it stays standing, Strickland's boxing could pick him apart. Hernandez was supposed to fight Reinier de Ridder but had to pull out with an injury, so this Strickland booking is his bounce back moment. Fans are wondering if Hernandez can really hang with the elite or if Strickland's experience at the championship level is too much. One guy's surging, the other's trying to prove he's still a problem. Strickland's been vocal about the middleweight division lately, calling out Robert Whittaker as just a gatekeeper and questioning who's really worthy of title contention. He's made it clear he prefers fighting Hernandez over Whittaker, saying the former champ is past his prime. The UFC originally tried booking this fight for UFC 325 in Australia, but Strickland turned it down due to the location.
They moved it to Houston for February 21st and got the deal done. Hernandez is riding an eight fight win streak heading into this main event, making this his second straight Fight Night headliner after the Dolidze finish. Eric Nicksick is back in Strickland's corner for UFC Houston after the two worked things out and spoke it out like men. The coach explained their reconciliation ahead of the Hernandez matchup. Hernandez revealed on the Ariel Helwani Show that the UFC actually required him to prove his Mexican family history before they'd let him rep the heritage. Wild bureaucracy for a guy who's been repping it his whole career. ESPN just dropped their 2026 MMA rankings and Hernandez cracked the top 50 at number 50 after being completely unranked in 2025. The Dolidze win and this Strickland booking are putting serious respect on his name heading into Houston. Strickland went off on social media explaining why he hates filming promotional content with the UFC, venting about the media obligations that come with being a main event fighter. Classic Tarzan keeping it real as fight week approaches.
Anthony Hernandez finish map
Anthony Hernandez breakdown
Anthony Hernandez's recent form
This is wild. Anthony Hernandez just headlined a Fight Night in August, choked out Roman Dolidze in the fourth round, and now he's getting thrown in there with Sean Strickland. The fight was officially announced during the UFC 323 PPV broadcast, and Fluffy's on a crazy run right now with five straight wins. He's finishing dudes in ways that make you wince. That ground and pound on Michel Pereira in the fifth round? Nasty elbows that had everyone talking for weeks. Strickland's coming off back to back title fights with Dricus Du Plessis, and yeah, he lost both of them by decision. But here's the thing, Sean's still one of the most dangerous strikers at 185. That jab is relentless. He threw 402 strikes against Paulo Costa and just broke him down over five rounds. He's not flashy, but he's suffocating when he gets his rhythm going. Turns out he was dealing with a shoulder injury during that second Du Plessis fight at UFC 312, but the UFC pushed for the rematch anyway.
If Hernandez gets top position, those elbows come fast, but Strickland's most dangerous in rounds two through four when his volume peaks.
The matchup is fascinating because Hernandez is a volume machine who wants to drag you into deep water and drown you there. He landed 219 strikes and hit 10 takedowns against Pereira, controlled him for over 15 minutes. Strickland's takedown defense is solid. He stuffed everything Costa threw at him, but Hernandez is relentless. If Fluffy can get this to the mat, those elbows from mount are terrifying. If it stays standing, Strickland's boxing could pick him apart. Hernandez was supposed to fight Reinier de Ridder but had to pull out with an injury, so this Strickland booking is his bounce back moment. Fans are wondering if Hernandez can really hang with the elite or if Strickland's experience at the championship level is too much. One guy's surging, the other's trying to prove he's still a problem. Strickland's been vocal about the middleweight division lately, calling out Robert Whittaker as just a gatekeeper and questioning who's really worthy of title contention. He's made it clear he prefers fighting Hernandez over Whittaker, saying the former champ is past his prime. The UFC originally tried booking this fight for UFC 325 in Australia, but Strickland turned it down due to the location.
They moved it to Houston for February 21st and got the deal done. Hernandez is riding an eight fight win streak heading into this main event, making this his second straight Fight Night headliner after the Dolidze finish. Eric Nicksick is back in Strickland's corner for UFC Houston after the two worked things out and spoke it out like men. The coach explained their reconciliation ahead of the Hernandez matchup. Hernandez revealed on the Ariel Helwani Show that the UFC actually required him to prove his Mexican family history before they'd let him rep the heritage. Wild bureaucracy for a guy who's been repping it his whole career. ESPN just dropped their 2026 MMA rankings and Hernandez cracked the top 50 at number 50 after being completely unranked in 2025. The Dolidze win and this Strickland booking are putting serious respect on his name heading into Houston. Strickland went off on social media explaining why he hates filming promotional content with the UFC, venting about the media obligations that come with being a main event fighter. Classic Tarzan keeping it real as fight week approaches.
Sean Strickland finish map
Sean Strickland breakdown
Sean Strickland's recent form
Pace delta
+1.4 significant strikes/min
Sean Strickland averages 6.0 significant strikes per minute while Anthony Hernandez sits at 4.6.
AI confidence
76%
Probability weighting from the AgentMMA simulator.
Finish radar
High-conviction finish window detected. Unlock for full breakdown.
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