Anthony Hernandez is targeting a former UFC champion in his return.
Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was looking at a potential No. 1 contender bout against Reinier de Ridder in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 262 headliner, but was forced out due to injury. He is ready to compete again early next year.
Sean Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) called out Hernandez in a recent interview with MMA Junkie. While Hernandez is game, he’d rather fight Dricus Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who just lost his middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319.
“Sean’s funny. He’s wild. He’s always saying crazy sh*t,” Hernandez said on the “Weighing In” podcast. “That’s just who he is as a person. But I get it. If he wants to fight me, then run it. I don’t give a f*ck. But I would like to fight DDP because that would get me to the f*cking belt, guaranteed.
“Either way, I think both fights get me to the f*cking belt, so I really don’t care. At the end of the day, whoever the matchmakers make the fight with or call me for, I’m going to sign the waiver and run it. … I think both fights would be fun. Both fights would be very bloody, and I think we both get a lot of money for those fights. So I don’t give a f*ck.”
Hernandez explained why he prefers Du Plessis over Strickland.
“I would like to fight DDP because he did like a lot of good sh*t as a champion,” Hernandez said. “He beat a lot of big-name guys. So I think if you beat him, it would be a good champion to beat – like, a once-proven champion.”
