Streaking middleweight speaks with Fighters Only’s E. Spencer Kyte about chasing the dream he shared with his father, being a parent himself, and his methodical rise up the 185-pound ranks.
Anthony Hernandez was best friends with his father, Hugo, and his dream to reach the UFC began as a shared goal between the two. His dad wasn’t just someone cheering from the sidelines — he was one of the surging middleweight’s early training partners and chief cornermen.
As Hernandez edged closer to competing on the biggest stage in MMA, his father’s health began to deteriorate. Hugo ultimately lost his battle with lung disease shortly after his son earned a shot on Season 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series — but before the now 31-year-old standout mauled Jordan Wright to secure his place on the UFC roster.
“It’s been a blessing, man,” Hernandez said Monday afternoon, stretched out on a massage table just days before his main event clash with Roman Dolidze at the UFC APEX. “It’s been a crazy f****** rollercoaster. I paid off the property I bought with him — that was a blessing — and next I wanna put a house out there and go live out there with my kids.”
Hernandez is atypical, even in a sport filled with uniquely wired individuals. He doesn’t follow the sport closely, preferring instead to escape into the woods, ride dirt bikes, and hang out with his four kids. The family once lived off-grid on the ranch he purchased with his father, but has since relocated to a home in Sacramento. Still, the dream of returning to the ranch — this time with a house and his kids — remains part of the plan.
Having grown up with such a close bond with his father, Hernandez was asked what it's like now being a dad himself — to four kids, all at different points in the “Don’t Want to Hang Out With Dad” phase of life.
“It’s different,” he said, smiling wide. “I tell my kids all the time: we didn’t get to just go have fun; we had to work a lot. A lot of my childhood was working with my dad, and it taught me how to be a man. I want that for my kids, but at the same time, I don’t want that. I’d rather they learn about themselves through sports and have an actual childhood.”
He laughs at how often being a parent now reminds him of the talks his dad used to give — the warnings, the advice, and the occasional whack on the back of the head when he messed up, or was about to.
“My dad would always say, ‘You’ll understand when you have kids,’” Hernandez recalled, grinning. “And f***, bro — now I see what it all meant. It’s funny, and I just laugh at it.
Life’s short — you’ve gotta enjoy that s***.”
UFC Gold — No Matter How Long It Takes
While many fighters obsess over rankings, callouts, and weekly fight cards, Hernandez doesn’t concern himself with any of it. His goal has always been simple: to prove he’s ready for UFC gold, however long that takes.
“Trust me, I want the belt more than anyone in this f****** division. That’s why I keep saying, ‘Whatever I gotta do to get me a f****** title shot, gimme that mf!’” said Hernandez, who enters Saturday’s bout with Dolidze on a seven-fight win streak, most recently defeating Brendan Allen in February.
“I’ve been vocal about it, so if this is the fight they want, I get it.
Roman Dolidze is a tough mf — it seems like everyone who’s gotten past him ends up with big fights or a title shot. So I’m right there.”
Although he doesn’t track division movement, others around him do — like his wife, his coaches, and his manager.
“My wife is a big MMA fan. She gives me the rundown on all the s*** that’s going on in the division — same with my coaches and manager. They follow it heavy,” said the tenth-ranked middleweight, who’s been steadily rising since submitting Rodolfo Vieira in 2021.
“The way I see it, I’m just a f****** soldier. I’m just gonna march forward and take every mf out that I can until I get to the belt.”
The middleweight division is shifting. Former champions like Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya are slowly falling back in the rankings, while fresh contenders like Reinier de Ridder and Nassourdine Imavov are rising. Hernandez sits just behind that new wave — and one spot behind Dolidze, who recently outlasted Marvin Vettori in Vegas to extend his win streak to three.
Despite his resume, Hernandez isn’t shouting about being overlooked or ducked. His approach remains consistent — the same mindset he’s had long before he entered the UFC.
“F*** man, it’s been a long time,” he said when reflecting on his seven years in the UFC. “But I don’t reflect just to seven years — I go back to the beginning. This s*** has been over 16 years in the making. I had one goal: to be good enough to get the UFC belt, make a lot of money, then retire, pay off my s***, and kick it with my kids.
That’s still my goal.
But I want to do some legendary s***. I wanna go out there, f*** some people up, hold the belt for a while, and when my body gives out and I can’t do this s*** no more, maybe that’s when I’ll go to therapy.”
And eventually, he says, he’ll give back — especially to the kids from where he grew up.
“Right now, it’s one thing: make the name, and the rest will play itself out.”
Eyes on UFC 319 — And Maybe More
Hernandez even has a plan for how things could play out in the short term — if everything goes right this weekend.
“The way I see it, I come home and stay lean just in case they call me for that title fight,” he said with a grin, offering himself as a backup for next week’s UFC 319 title bout between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. “But besides that, if it’s not a call for that, I don’t want a call.
I wanna enjoy my kids for a month, let these bone bruises heal — because that’s usually what it is — and then give me a call and I’ll be ready to make a statement again.”
“It’s kill or be killed, and it’s a violent sport. But if you’re out too long, people forget about you. So I’m just trying to stay active — and stay violent.”
