Anthony Hernandez insists his mindset has not changed despite the first defeat of his current UFC run, as the middleweight contender prepares to face Gregory Rodrigues in the main event of UFC Sacramento this Saturday.
Hernandez saw an impressive eight-fight winning streak snapped by Sean Strickland in February, but the 32-year-old says the loss has done little to alter the way he approaches his career.
“I’m still good man. Just been putting in work for this fight,” Hernandez told Fighters Only. “Even on the streak, it's just another fight to me. Every fight's another fight. I really don't look at it any different.”
For Hernandez, defeat is something he has experienced throughout his life, and something that has consistently produced the same response.
“It’s not rocket science man,” he said. “I'm not gonna change the whole way I view shit because I've lost before. I've lost as a kid, I've lost as an adult and every time it just pisses me off and I get my fucking ass in the gym and I try to take off the next guy's head so it is what it is you know what I mean?
“Streaks are cool and it looks dope but it is what it is man. You learn, you live and that's it.”
That mentality has carried Hernandez into his latest training camp, where he has also had the unusual experience of working alongside the man who most recently handed him a loss.
Hernandez linked up with Strickland during camp and, despite their history inside the Octagon, said the relationship has been straightforward.
“It’s been chill man. What you see is what you get with Sean, so I'm the same way man,” Hernandez said. “As long as there's fucking mutual respect it's great and honestly like he's a fucking solid ass dude. I had a fun ass fight camp with him, put in work, simple as that.”
Now Hernandez turns his attention to Rodrigues, another dangerous middleweight with a reputation for violence and finishing ability.
The Brazilian presents a formidable challenge, but Hernandez is not interested in allowing his opponent's strengths to dictate his approach. Instead, he intends to return to the aggressive style that has helped establish him as one of the division's most relentless fighters.
“I think it's a great fight for me,” Hernandez said. “Yes, he's very dangerous, but I really don't give a fuck about that shit, man. I'm going to go out there and fight how I always fight. I'm going to get in your fucking face and I'm going to try to make you hit your life. Really that simple. That's what's really changed for me, man.”
With the loss to Strickland behind him, Hernandez is also keeping his eyes on the bigger picture. The middleweight title race remains crowded, but he has no interest in becoming distracted by matchmaking or rankings.
His philosophy is simple: beat whoever is put in front of him, then keep moving forward.
“I just go with the flow, man. Whoever's in front of me is who I'm going to fight,” Hernandez said. “I'm in this shit for money. And obviously the belt is the only way to make real money, so that's the goal at the end of the day.”
Hernandez knows there may be no shortcut back to title contention. If necessary, he is prepared to work his way through the division all over again.
“Whatever I got to fucking do to get there, I'm going to do to get there,” he said. “If I got to fight every single motherfucker again, all the way back to the front, then so be it.”
After eight consecutive victories came to an end against Strickland, Hernandez has no intention of allowing one defeat to redefine his trajectory. Against Rodrigues in Sacramento, he will look to begin another run with the same aggressive mindset that carried him through the first one.
