Sean Strickland is back in the main event spotlight.
During Saturday’s UFC 323 broadcast, it was announced that Strickland (29-7) is set to fight Anthony Hernandez (15-2, 1 NC) in the middleweight main event of UFC Houston, which takes place at Toyota Center on Feb. 21.
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UFC Houston marks the promotion’s first visit to the city since February 2022.
Strickland returns for the first time in a year after losing a middleweight championship rematch to Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 312 this past February. His 2025 was cut off by a suspension that was handed down after he jumped a cage at a Tuff-N-Uff event in June and attacked Luis Hernandez following Hernandez’s win over Strickland’s teammate Miles Hunsinger.
Prior to that incident, Strickland went on a dramatic run that saw him upset Israel Adesanya to become UFC middleweight champion, lose a close split decision to du Plessis, win a decision over Paulo Costa to earn a rematch, and then lose to du Plessis again.
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Hernandez is one of the hottest fighters in the UFC’s 185-pound division. “Fluffy” has won eight straight fights, including finishes of Roman Dolidze, Michel Pereira, Roman Kopylov, and Edmen Shahbazyan. He was most recently scheduled to battle Reinier de Ridder at UFC Vancouver in October in what could have been a No. 1 contender fight, but was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
