Sean Strickland He is a former UFC champion. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/UFC
Sean Strickland He is convinced that he will live a true nightmare in the main fight of UFC Houston, scheduled for February 21st. The American will face off against anthony hernandez, who is on an eight-fight winning streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and aware of dangers he faces Facing his rival, he has been preparing to endure a scenario of extreme wear and tear inside the octagon.
In an interview with ESPN MMA, the former middleweight champion (up to 83,9kg) highlighted the difficulty of facing Hernandez, emphasizing his rival's relentless pace and positive record against some of his teammates.
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“'Fluffy' is a tough fight. Infinite gas tank, he's already beaten some of my friends. I think Edmen (Shahbazyan) kind of chickened out in that fight. … Yeah, it's going to be a great fight. I can't wait. There's going to be a level of suffering there that's hard to train for. It's hard to prepare for that kind of suffering. You know it's going to be round four, round five. Like, fuck. Five more minutes of this damn parasite. That's how he built his career, by getting on top of guys, but it's tough,” he said. Sean Strickland.
Accustomed to five-round fights, Strickland stated that he focused his preparation on dealing with his opponent's intensity, performing specific wrestling sessions outside of traditional sparring. In these activities, the fighter alternates partners successively, maintaining the pace until exhaustion, as a way to simulate the constant pressure he expects to encounter in the fight.
“I don’t know anything beyond five rounds. You just train for that. ‘Fluffy’ is a tough guy to train with because there’s nobody who really fights like him, who has that pace. So, a good part of my training, my wrestling rounds, happens outside of sparring. It’s just going with one guy until he’s a dead body, then going with another guy,” concluded the former middleweight champion.
Check out Sean Strickland's sparring session with Michael Pereira in preparation for UFC Houston.
What a BEAUTIFUL sparring session between Michel and Strickland! pic.twitter.com/5Spm9xV623
— JESUIN 🇹🇭🇧🇷 (@jebosio22) January 28, 2026
Brazil in the UFC Houston octagon
Besides Michael Pereira, which attempts to end a sequence of three losses For the second consecutive year, Brazil will be well represented at the event. Known as the "Christian usurer," Carlos Leal measures forces against Chidi Njōkuani, While Melquizael Costa seeks to move closer to the featherweight (up to 65,7 kg) rankings in a duel against Dan Ige.
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