Anthony Hernandez took one step closer to a middleweight title shot Saturday in Seattle.
In the UFC Fight Night 252 co-main event at Climate Pledge Arena, Hernandez (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) defeated Brendan Allen (24-7 MMA, 12-4 UFC) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
The bout was a rematch of a January 2018 LFA title fight, which Hernandez also won by unanimous decision.
The fight was gritty with both men having their moments. They mirrored each other in a lot of ways, both in game plan and execution. Hernandez overcame Allen’s attack, including a pain-inducing left hand in Round 3, to seal the deal with ground-and-pound late in Round 3.
“I don’t know – whoever is ahead of me,” Hernandez said in the cage after the win. “I want to get the belt, so give me someone who is going to let me prove I’m ready for the title.”
#UFCSeattle results: Anthony Hernandez (@Ilovebamf) def. Brendan Allen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Full coverage: https://t.co/GLSnYKrIzU pic.twitter.com/EDsPNL4U8B
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 23, 2025
Hernandez, 31, has now won seven fights in a row. Saturday’s victory over Allen was the first in that stretch that did not come inside the distance.
Allen, 29, has now lost back-to-back fights. His previous loss came against Nassourdine Imavov by unanimous decision. in September
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 252 results include:
- Anthony Hernandez def. Brendan Allen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Rob Font def. Jean Matsumoto via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Jean Silva def. Melsik Baghdasaryan via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:15
- Alonzo Menifield def. Julius Walker via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ion Cutelaba def. Ibo Aslan via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:51
- Melquizael Costa def. Andre Fili via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:30
- Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:24
- Ricky Simon def. Javid Basharat via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:58
- Austin Vanderford def. Nikolay Veretennikov via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:13
- Nursulton Ruziboev def. Eric McConico via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:33
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Rafael Cerqueira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:12
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.
