In the main event of UFC Fight Night 267 in Houston, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland achieved a spectacular technical knockout victory over Anthony Hernandez in the third round. Immediately after the fight, the American shared his genuine impressions, noting that the opponent turned out to be much more dangerous than he expected.
“I was surprised by Hernandez's boxing, man, he's a tough bastard. Hey, you have great boxing, dude, nobody warned me about that!” said Sean in the post-match interview. He added that Hernandez showed himself to be a real beast who "didn't slow down at all," although he became less technical and too aggressive in the second half of the fight.
Despite the pre-fight tension and exchange of pleasantries at the weigh-in, after the fight, Strickland felt a special connection with the opponent. “After this fight, I felt my Mexican roots. It was a damn war. I'm grateful to you,” he stated.
Strickland particularly emphasized Hernandez's human qualities: “Anthony is an example of a real man, honestly, I aspire to be the same: he's married, he's a father, and a real hard worker. I can only dream of becoming such a man, respect to you.”
Concluding the interview, Sean turned to future plans and didn't hold back in his words: “Bro, if Chimaev gets back into action, I would like to tear that Chechen slut apart. With him, nothing is clear, it is unknown what he plans to do, but I want to fight him.”
