Daniel Cormier thinks Anthony Hernandez deserves his shot to break into the middleweight elite.
“Fluffy” made it seven straight wins this past Saturday at UFC Seattle with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over past rival Brendan Allen. The 31-year-old is on the cusp of moving into the top 5 of the middleweight division, but likely needs a big-name opponent to get there, and Cormier wants to see him get the chance against a former UFC champion.
Could a star like Israel Adesanya or Robert Whittaker be next for Hernandez?
“You know why I like him?” Cormier said on the Good Guy / Bad Guy podcast.” Because I watched Nassourdine Imavov just knock out Izzy. But I also just watched Nassourdine Imavov go dogfight with Brendan Allen in a [co-main event] in France last year. Imavov won that third round to beat Brendan Allen, barely. Hernandez goes and does that, too. Hernandez is the real deal and if he can beat a guy like Brendan Allen right after he beats [Michel] Pereira and then he beat [Roman] Kopylov and then he beat [Edmen] Shahbazyan. He’s won four in a row now. It’s KO, sub, KO, unanimous decision. I think it’s time that we put this kid in there with someone real.
“The question is, though, can you get him with a guy—I can’t believe I’m about to say this, because it just says how far we’ve come—can you get a guy like Izzy to fight him? That’s the classic story, we tell it every time. He beat Allen, who’s No. 9. You’ve got [Marvin] Vettori who’s in there, [Jared] Cannonier at 7, Caio Borralho at 6, Robert Whittaker 5, Izzy at 4. Can you get a Whittaker or an Izzy to fight this kid next? Because that’s that situation where you’ve got to start using those names from a prior generation now to elevate a guy like Fluffy Hernandez.”
Hernandez has been on a tear since a loss to Kevin Holland in 2020, having scored finishes of Michel Pereira, Roman Kopylov, Edmen Shahbazyan, Marc-Andre Barriault, and Rodolfo Vieira during this stretch. He’s likely one fight away from a title shot, though it’s unclear who will step up to give Hernandez that opportunity.
While Cormier favors Hernandez matching up with Adesanya or Whittaker, his podcast co-host Chael Sonnen sees another option a little further back in the rankings.
“I like an idea of Hernandez vs. Paulo Costa,” Sonnen said. “I think that puts Paulo in a real opportunity. Paulo is not coming off a win, but he’s still The Terminator, he’s still five-round ready. ... Not very many guys enjoy the work of fighting, there’s a lot of fighters and that’s what they do, ‘Call me three times a year and I’ll put my game face on,’ Hernandez has just always struck me as different. Now maybe I’m a mark, but I have bought into it.
“[Hernandez is] a legit tough guy. Paulo Costa is a legit tough guy. I think as fans, we could have a lot of fun with that booking.”
TOP STORIES
Approved. Dustin Poirier is down to see Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev sooner rather than later.
Over? Demetrious Johnson thinks old rival Henry Cejudo might need to hang up the gloves after a disappointing UFC Seattle result.
School. Jean Silva wants to teach Bryce Mitchell a lesson in more ways than one.
Change. Michael Bisping needs there to be actual consequences for fouls.
Runback? Is it time for Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2?
VIDEO STEW
MMA Fighting’s José Youngs chops it up with Dustin Poirier.
UFC Seattle post-fight show.
Dana White speaks.
Heck of a card!
UFC Vegas 103 headliner Manel Kape tore it up in his most recent fight.
Re-watch this banger.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
On to the Next One. Where does Song Yadong go after a pivotal—yet controversial—win at UFC Seattle? And is this the last ride for Henry Cejudo?
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Run it back!
Someone do something!
Big John’s take.
As simple as I can put this. Henry was fouled by Yadong with the eye poke. The foul was ruled to be unintentional by Jason Herzog and Jason gave Henry 5:00 minutes of time to recover. Henry resumes in the fight for the remainder of the 3rd round by avoiding confrontation with… https://t.co/4NusMhhEs2
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) February 23, 2025
Hmm...
What is the closest MMA equivalent to this photo…? #MMATwitter pic.twitter.com/k5zMq4KZVj
— Ross Baines Art (@RossBainesArt) February 23, 2025
https://t.co/WHOURdgwcK pic.twitter.com/bGxhUQxbFA
— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) February 23, 2025
A budding feud.
Pardner.
— Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) February 24, 2025
Welcome back.
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) February 24, 2025
Congratulations to @MasonJones1995 on resigning with the UFC pic.twitter.com/LgJS0D4kAP
Don’t miss the best KOs and subs of the week!
Hilo con los mejores KOs/TKOs de la semana. Top 20
— Barrele la pierna (@Barrelelapierna) February 24, 2025
Hilo con las mejores sumisiones de la semana. Top 10
— Barrele la pierna (@Barrelelapierna) February 24, 2025
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Tresean Gore (5-2) vs. Marco Tulio (13-1); UFC 314, April 12
Mike Malott (11-2-1) vs. Charles Radtke (10-4); UFC 315, May 10
FINAL THOUGHTS
There’s no arguing Anthony Hernandez deserves a top-5 opponent, but who dares to step into the cage with FLUFFY???
EXIT POLL
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