Sean Strickland wants his middleweight championship back and thinks he's ready for Khamzat Chimaev, making that statement with a finish of Anthony Hernandez in the main event of UFC Houston.
Strickland started the fight by working behind the jab, looking to keep Hernandez at bay and prevent any takedown attempts. Strickland landed a strong right hand that caught Hernandez's attention about halfway through the first. Hernandez, however, battled hard during the second half of the round, landing a couple of strong rights.
Strickland continued to work a strong jab during the second round, while Hernandez looked to come forward and turn the momentum with his pressure.
Strickland ended things with a body shot that hurt "Fluffy" during the third, following it up with clinch knees to the body and some ground shots before the referee stopped the action.
This was Strickland's first fight since losing his UFC middleweight championship rematch with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 one year ago. Strickland upset Israel Adesanya for the title at UFC 293 before losing to DDP at UFC 297.
"Fluffy" Hernandez sees an eight-fight win streak snapped at the hands of Strickland. He came into this bout off a dominant submission of Roman Dolidze this past summer.