Middleweight fighter Anthony Hernandez believes he would have been an UFC champion had Dricus du Plessis not pulled out of their fight. The pair were slated to fight at UFC 273 in April 2022. But the South African cancelled the bout because he wanted to take on Kelvin Gastelum instead.
Since then their career paths have diverged. Du Plessis’ path took him to UFC gold. He defeated Sean Strickland for the middleweight title before defending it successfully against Israel Adesanya.
Hernandez also remains unbeaten in his path. However, his opponents were not necessarily the best in the mix. And the title shot he craves, and believes he deserves, has eluded him.
‘Fluffy’ is currently set to take on Michel Pereira. In an interview with Shak MMA on YouTube, he spoke about how DDP wanted to play games and fight the bigger name in Gastelum, launching himself into 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 insists he is the kind of fighter who takes on anyone the promotion puts before him without measuring the pros and cons. He believes he is one of the best in the world and will look to prove that against Pereira this weekend.
Hernandez’s game plan for Pereira
Hernandez is currently sitting on a 5-fight win streak in the UFC. He may not have been fighting high-ranked opponents, but all of them were electric in their own right. His next opponent, Pereira, is no different.
Pereira is a live wire and has a wild aura of unpredictability inside the octagon. The result: super entertaining fights. However, Hernandez believes it is that same unpredictability that will be Pereira’s 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”
Hernandez is not’s wrong here. Pereira is rather erratic. His 31-11-0 record stands testament to that. And, his sudden explosive movements waste energy. He is known to run out of gas by the third round. That’s a death knell for an UFC fighter, be it in any weight division. All the more tricky if the opponent understands this weakness and plans his fight preserving the lungs for a late surge.
Hernandez has already made plans around. And, he doesn’t have to deviate much from his natural fight tendencies. The 31-year-old American is patient and is not known to stray off the game plan. So, if and when Pereira breathes a bit louder in the bout, one can expect Hernandez to pounce.
