Middleweight fighter Anthony Hernandez believes he would be UFC champion today if it weren’t for Dricus Du Plessis canceling their fight. The pair were supposed to fight at UFC 273 back in April 2022 but the South African had to pull out of the fight because he wanted to take on Kelvin Gastelum instead.
Since then their careers have diverged into two very different paths. For Du Plessis, it was the path to UFC gold as he went on to defeat Sean Strickland for the middleweight title and then defended it successfully against Israel Adesanya.
For Hernandez, it was a path of unbeaten fights against opponents who weren’t necessarily the best on the roster.
‘Fluffy’ is currently set to take on Michel Pereira but in an interview with Shak MMA on YouTube, he spoke about how DDP wanted to play games and fight the bigger name in Gastelum, leading to his career diverging towards a different orbit.
“I’d be champion already you know what I mean?…I said yes to the fight, he said no because he wanted to go fight Gastelum, I get it, bigger name. He’s playing the smart game.”
Hernandez claims to be a fighter who just goes in there and takes on anyone the promotion puts before him without any smart games on his mind,
That said, he still believes he is one of the best in the world at what he does and he will look to prove that against Michel Pereira this weekend.
Hernandez’s game plan for Pereira
Anthony Hernandez is currently sitting on a 5-fight win streak in the UFC against one of the most electric fighters in the organization. Not highly ranked but electric all the same. And his next opponent is not going to be any different.
Pereira is a live wire and has a wild aura of unpredictability inside the octagon, which makes for super entertaining fights. However, Hernandez also believes it is that same quality that will be his downfall.
“Respectfully in the 3rd round Pereira looks like s*it, if everything goes right and my hands are up I think I finish him just because of the way he gasses and I don’t gas”
And he not’s wrong. Pereira is rather erratic and has a lot of sudden explosive movements that cause him to gas out in round three and an empty tank is not something any UFC fighter in any weight class wants, especially if their opponent is well-versed in preserving the sanctity of their lungs!
Hernandez, unfortunately for Pereira, is that guy. He is patient and is not known to deviate from his established game plan. So, if and when Pereira does breathe a bit louder, Hernandez will look to be there!
