Sean Strickland’s third-round knockout reshuffles the middleweight title picture and forces fresh contender decisions

Why this matters now: sean strickland’s return after more than a year out was not just a win—it reintroduces him as an immediate factor in the middleweight title race. By scoring his first stoppage since 2023 and halting Anthony Hernandez’s eight-fight run, Strickland inserted himself back into the championship conversation and publicly targeted Khamzat Chimaev for the next step.

What Sean Strickland’s victory changes in the 185-pound pecking order

Here's the part that matters: Strickland used the win to press for another title shot. He called out reigning champion Khamzat Chimaev after the fight, saying he "wants a piece" of the division’s undefeated king. That demand lands alongside pre-fight expectations that a win here would put the victor straight into title consideration—a point made louder because three of Strickland’s past four fights had gold on the line.

The prediction narrative ahead of the event had painted this as a battle for a title shot. Hernandez arrived riding an eight-fight win streak—the longest in the division—and a victory likely would have set him up as the top contender. Now, Hernandez must regroup after a devastating defeat that counts as his third stoppage loss.

Event details and how the finish unfolded

Strickland returned to the cage in the main event at the Toyota Center and delivered a vintage performance that ended at 2: 33 of Round 3. Fighting under the nickname "Tarzan, " he leaned on his signature jab and heavy-volume striking across three rounds. Minimal grappling attempts came Hernandez’s way—surprisingly few attempts to change levels—while Hernandez, a sizable favorite in the lead-up, found moments with his striking in Round 2 that failed to alter Strickland’s game plan.

The decisive sequence came in Round 3: Hernandez wilted after taking a knee to the body, and Strickland followed with a flurry of punches that produced the stoppage. This marked Strickland’s first stoppage since 2023 and his first fight after more than a year out of the cage; his most recent prior outing ended in early February 2025 with a loss to Dricus du Plessis in a failed bid to regain the middleweight title. Strickland’s official record on the night moved to 30-7, while Hernandez entered the fight at 15-3, 1 NC.

Card highlights beyond the main event

Uros Medic (13-3) delivered a star-making co-main performance against veteran Geoff Neal (16-8). A cracking left hook to the temple disconnected Neal just 79 seconds into the opening round. That result was Neal’s second consecutive UFC loss and his fourth defeat in his past five bouts.

Elsewhere, Melquizael Costa (25-7) continued his ascent at featherweight with a stunning late first-round spinning back kick to the face of Dan Ige (19-10), extending Costa’s win streak to six.

• Strickland’s stoppage at 2: 33 of Round 3 ended Hernandez’s eight-fight streak.
• Medic’s 79-second knockout returned Geoff Neal to a slide of mixed recent results (second straight loss, fourth in five fights).
• Costa’s spinning kick was a fight-finishing strike that pushed his streak to six.

Bonuses, schedule notes and the pre-fight expectations

In the bonus department, four fighters earned performance bonuses of $100, 000: Strickland, Uros Medic, Melquizael Costa and Jacobe Smith. The event had been scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 21, with an eight-fight early preliminary card beginning at 5 p. m. ET and a six-fight main card slated to begin at 8 p. m. ET; the full show streamed live on a subscription streaming platform.

Pre-fight analysis framed the Strickland–Hernandez matchup as a title-shot pivot: some previews noted that Strickland had recent high-profile wins—making relatively quick work of Paulo Costa and holding an upset of Israel Adesanya in memory—balanced against two losses to Dricus du Plessis. Hernandez’s strengths were described as heavy pressure, strong grappling, nonstop volume and elite cardio—the idea being that with 25 minutes he might wear Strickland down. There was also an explicit concern about Hernandez’s recovery from a recent injury.

What’s easy to miss is that the win does more than pad a record: it reboots a contender narrative that had been paused by inactivity and a high-profile loss.

• Key takeaways: Strickland’s finish reignites his title claim; Hernandez must re-evaluate after a loss that halts an eight-fight climb.
• Key takeaways: Medic’s early knockout elevates him into conversation as a dangerous, finish-first welterweight.
• Key takeaways: Costa’s spinning-kick finish reinforces his six-fight streak and upward momentum at featherweight.
• Key takeaways: The performance bonuses flag four fighters who delivered night-changing moments.

The real question now is how matchmakers balance Strickland’s public callout of Khamzat Chimaev against other contender paths—some projections had expected a new No. 1 contender at 185 pounds by week’s end, even with a nod to Nassourdine Imavov in that conversation. Recent history and the card’s outcomes make several directions possible, but details beyond the post-fight callout are unclear in the provided context.

Micro timeline rewind: Strickland last fought in early February 2025 (a title challenge loss to Dricus du Plessis), then spent more than a year out of competition before returning to stop Hernandez at 2: 33 of Round 3 in Houston; prior to the bout Hernandez had an eight-fight winning streak.

Editor’s aside: The bigger signal here is how quickly a single stoppage can flip contender narratives—one night of emphatic finishing changed several fighters’ short-term trajectories.