Daniel Cormier wants to see a big step up in competition for Anthony Hernandez.
Hernandez (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) extended his winning streak to seven when he defeated Brendan Allen by unanimous decision in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 252 co-main event at Climate Pledge Arena. His streak includes finishes over the likes of Roman Kopylov and Michel Pereira.
Cormier thinks Hernandez’s impressive run warrants a big name in the middleweight division.
“You know why I like him? Because I watched Nassourdine Imavov just knock out Izzy, but I also just watched Nassourdine Imavov go dog fight with Brendan Allen in France last year,” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Sonnen. “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 Pereira and then he beat Kopylov and then he beat 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 a fight 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 the prior generation now to elevate a guy like ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez.”
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) finds himself in an unfamiliar territory having lost three fights in a row. Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker’s (27-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) road back to gold took another halt when he was quickly submitted by Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.
