Sean Strickland knocks out Anthony Hernandez, calls out Khamzat Chimaev in UFC Houston main event

sean strickland made a statement in the UFC Houston main event, scoring a third-round stoppage of Anthony "Fluffy" Hernandez and immediately setting his sights on reigning middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. The finish came at 2: 33 of Round 3 at the Toyota Center, capping Strickland's first fight after more than a year out of the cage.

Sean Strickland's statement return

The former UFC middleweight champion delivered his first stoppage since 2023, halting Hernandez's eight-fight win streak with a flurry of strikes. Strickland entered the fight with a record of 30-7; Hernandez came in at 15-3, 1 NC. It was Strickland's first fight after more than a year away and his last outing had ended in a loss in early February 2025, a lackluster effort against then-champion Dricus du Plessis in a failed bid to regain the UFC middleweight title.

How the finish unfolded

Fighting under the nickname "Tarzan, " Strickland worked behind his signature jab and peppered Hernandez with heavy volume across three rounds. Hernandez offered surprisingly few grappling attempts, giving up space on the feet. The challenger found moments with his striking in Round 2 but nothing that altered Strickland's game plan. In the third frame Hernandez wilted after a knee to the body and was then finished by a flurry of punches, producing the official stoppage at 2: 33 of Round 3. The defeat marked Hernandez's third loss stoppage.

Co-main and quick knockout

In the co-main event Uros Medic strengthened his stock with a star-making performance against veteran welterweight Geoff Neal. Medic, listed at 13-3, landed a cracking left hook to the temple that knocked Neal, who is 16-8, out of the contest just 79 seconds into the opening round. The loss was Neal's second consecutive UFC defeat and his fourth in his past five bouts.

Featherweight highlight: Costa's spinning kick

Melquizael Costa, now 25-7, continued his ascent up the featherweight rankings by scoring a stunning late first-round spinning back kick to the face of perennial top-15 contender Dan Ige, who is 19-10. The finish extended Costa's win streak to six.

Bonuses and aftermath

In the bonus department Strickland, Medic, Costa and Jacobe Smith each earned $100, 000 performance bonuses. After his victory Strickland kept his post-fight message brief, saying he "wants a piece" of the division's undefeated king and calling out Khamzat Chimaev for another shot at gold.

Pre-fight coverage of the event had framed the match as a title-shot crossroads: three of Strickland's past four fights had gold on the line, and Hernandez arrived having strung together eight straight wins, the longest streak in the division. Observers warned, "Count out Sean Strickland at your own peril. " The same coverage noted Strickland had fallen twice to Dricus du Plessis but had also made easy work of Paulo Costa and pulled a shocking upset over Israel Adesanya that remains fresh in many fans' memories.

That pre-fight analysis also suggested Hernandez would have a clear path to Khamzat Chimaev with a win, and even included the line, "With apologies to Nassourdine Imavov, we will likely have a new No. 1 contender at 185 pounds by week’s end. " There had been concern about how Hernandez would bounce back from a recent injury, and that uncertainty was part of the pre-fight conversation. Other context noted Geoff Neal had come off a potentially career-changing knockout loss to Carlos Prates and that Strickland's recent defeats included a poor outing in his second fight with Dricus du Plessis and a loss to Alex Pereira.

Event timing noted the show took place on a Saturday, with promotional materials listing the early preliminary card as an eight-fight slate beginning at 5 p. m. ET and a six-fight main card at 8 p. m. ET. The main event and the co-main provided decisive finishes that reshaped the evening's pecking order.

Strickland's return reshaped the middleweight picture in Houston: he left with a stoppage, a performance bonus and an immediate challenge for Khamzat Chimaev. Hernandez must reassess after a devastating loss, while Uros Medic, Melquizael Costa and Jacobe Smith walk away with sizable bonuses and momentum.