UFC Fight Night 252's Anthony Hernandez: 'I have the skills to beat' Dricus Du Plessis
Hernandez (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who will attempt to repeat January 2018 victory over Brendan Allen (24-6 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in their co-main event rematch on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 252 card at Climate Pledge Arena (ESPN+), was once scheduled to face Du Plessis at UFC 273 in April 2022.
The bout didn't materialize because Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) was shifted to another matchup and date, but it has lingered for Hernandez. 'Flurry' is currently riding a six-fight winning streak, and if he get past Allen, he doesn't think a title shot is far off.
'I'm just look ing at this fight for sure because this is the biggest fight that matters,' Hernandez told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday's UFC Fight Night 252 media day. 'Finish this guy, get my hand raised, make a statement and then the UFC has a plan. They've always got a f*cking plan. You've seen guys that weren't even ranked get title shots. I figure if the timing matches up and they give me the shot, I'll be f*cking ready. No matter what.
'I like the fight with DDP. I was supposed to have that fight already. I said yes on like two weeks' notice or some sh*t. I believe I have the skills to beat the guy. It's crazy because I keep telling people, 'It looks like he's gassing,' but then the motherf*cker keeps coming forward. And he's awkward, so that throws people off. I definitely would like that fight, but for now, it's just Brendan Allen that's on my mind.'
In his first meeting with Allen at LFA 32, Hernandez earned a five-round unanimous decision win to claim the promotion's vacant middleweight title. Both men had less than 10 professional fights each then, but have now involved into the elite.
Allen, No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, has surpassed No. 12-ranked Hernandez in stature under the UFC banner thus far. However, this weekend's rematch proves as a major opportunity for Hernandez to change that.
'He's gotten better everywhere,' Hernandez said. 'All the places I feel like I messed up late time, the first time we fought, I understand now. I understand how to shut it down, so I'm planning on going out there and having a great performance. I know it's going to be a war. He was a tough f*cking kid last time I fought him, so whatever it is, it is. We'll see who wins.
'I mentally broke him, and I was f*cking exhausted, so I'm in great shape and I'm ready to go to war and stay in a motherf*ckers face and drown him.'
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
44 minutes ago
- New York Times
How to watch the Tour Championship: TV, weather, format for FedEx Cup finale at East Lake
The playoff gate closed at Caves Valley with a jolt. Scottie Scheffler came back from a four-shot deficit in five holes, then chipped in on the par-3 17th to win the BMW Championship and lock the FedEx Cup No. 1 into Atlanta. The rally doubled as a sorting hat for the final 30, with East Lake now set. Advertisement ESPN+ will have coverage of featured groups and holes. NBC coverage can also be streamed on Peacock. There was no shortage of theater. Robert MacIntyre led after 54 holes before a closing 73 slipped him from contention. Akshay Bhatia delivered the week's headline, a hole-in-one at the 17th that earned him a BMW and the final Tour Championship berth. Tommy Fleetwood's birdie on Sunday rolled in only after a stray fly redirected its path, a moment that drew more laughter than disbelief. Rickie Fowler, despite a tie for seventh, fell just short of Atlanta at 32nd in the standings. This year's Tour Championship arrives with a clean slate. Starting strokes are gone. All 30 players begin at even par, and the lowest 72-hole total wins the FedEx Cup. The Tour formalized the change in May as part of its 'Fan Forward' updates. East Lake is the oldest permanent host in playoff golf, home to Bobby Jones as a boy and to the finale since 2005. Players describe it as exacting but fair, with long-iron approaches into demanding Bermuda greens. Atlanta heat and late-day storms are expected to add their usual layer of suspense. Odds mirror the form sheet. BetMGM lists Scheffler as the clear favorite, followed by Rory McIlroy, then Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Åberg and Russell Henley next, with no one else shorter than +2000 odds. Scheffler is also the defending champion, having won the 2024 Tour Championship at East Lake. The complete list of tee times can be found here. Ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Scottie Scheffler: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Baseball fans would take a hit if Rob Manfred's latest idea about expansion and radical realignment becomes reality
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Say it ain't so. Advertisement 'The problem with the proposal is that it's too logical, it makes so much sense, just as it works in the NHL and the NBA,' says Jane Leavy, the preeminent baseball biographer whose Advertisement 'But baseball is different. It can't presume the way those leagues can to eliminate the perquisites of its history, and so what makes sense doesn't always work for baseball. 'It's like, 'Erase the record books, erase the collective unconscious, wipe the slate clean.' Baseball is too much trapped by its history, I understand that and I get that, but it also is indebted to its history in ways that younger sports are not.' Manfred would do it all anyway, determined as he seems to write a lasting personal legacy over what's best for the game. He's already overseen dramatic change, some of it excellent (the pitch clock), some of it OK (universal designated hitter, extra-inning ghost runner), and some of it bad (automated balls and strikes, automatic intentional walks). And he's pushed back on some truly awful ideas (such as the golden at-bat). But this latest salvo shows once again how much of his own baseball soul is missing, a willingness to use the inevitability of expansion to fundamentally alter baseball fandom and history as we've known it. 'In my mind, I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign,' Manfred said on the ESPN broadcast. 'I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel. I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN because you'd be playing out of the East, out of the West, and that 10 o'clock where we sometimes get Boston-Anaheim would be two West Coast teams. That 10 o'clock slot that's a problem for us sometimes becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience.' Advertisement We get it — baseball hasn't expanded since the 1998 addition of the Rays and Diamondbacks, and has two existing teams, Las Vegas (via Oakland) and the itinerant Rays awaiting new stadiums. Travel demands have indeed grown, but part of that is on baseball for adding regular-season interleague play. And let's be honest, the private chartered life of a baseball player is not the same as flying commercial. Plus, baseball could help that problem with smarter scheduling on its own, grouping cross-country road trips and emphasizing division rivalries. But Manfred would rather blow it all up, or at least bring the idea to the upcoming bargaining table with the players' union, attempting to curry favor with ideas as better for player well-being, while ignoring what it might mean to longtime fans who thrive on those rivalries, who grew up with those adversaries, who invested those emotions. 'I don't like any of that,' Hall of Famer Jim Kaat agreed. 'What's the World Series going to be like without the competition of the two leagues?' Kaat already is on record about baseball So, apparently, is the link to the past. 'You can see that incrementally they've been working toward this. I've heard about it for years,' Leavy said. 'I understand, but there's got to be a way to balance the needs of growth and modernity without erasing the game's essential self.' Advertisement Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
ESPN NFL Analyst Taking Heat For Joke About Jesus' Resurrection
ESPN NFL Analyst Taking Heat For Joke About Jesus' Resurrection originally appeared on The Spun. ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark can be pretty polarizing at times. But a recent joke he made about Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco seems to have been over the line for some fans. During a recent segment on ESPN, Clark spoke about the Browns' recent decision to name Flacco the starter for the 2025 NFL season. Clark started gushing about how Flacco has managed to continuously get work in the NFL despite having semi-retired several years ago. He then declared that Flacco's return to the NFL is "the greatest resurrection since Jesus Christ," which as you might imagine didn't sit well with some. "I'm gonna tell you what, man," Clark said. "Joe Flacco must have the faith of a mustard seed, right? Because this is the greatest resurrection since Jesus the Christ. Like, at some point, Joe Flacco was thinking about getting into TV, right? Joe Flacco didn't have a job. And then, now, you not only coming back and starting for the Cleveland Browns late in the 2023 season, but they came back around to you and you're now the day one starter for a franchise that just two years ago was in the playoffs." The reaction has been pretty nasty Fans were already pretty exhausted of Clark's hyperbolic analysis and were even less amused when he decided to compare an NFL quarterback to the legendary Christian figure. So after seeing that quote on their social media feeds, fans quickly made it clear how much they absolutely despised Clark: "Ryan Clark is literally the worst sports commentator of all time," one user said bluntly. "I think im honestly fine with never seeing Ryan Clark again," wrote another. "Ryan Clark is exactly why ESPN has been unwatchable for years. The dude is absolutely terrible," a third remarked. "Ryan Clark says he's a Christian and says something like that. Seriously. Comparing a guy who was pretty much named the starter before the pre season ever started is hardly a surprise. Ryan Clark is a terrible Stephen A Smith Wanabe." "Ryan Clark does not understand the parable of a mustard seed." "Does this show have a contest every day for who can say the dumbest (expletive) possible. Think so." Nothing new Ryan Clark has made a habit out of saying something ridiculous and then making it something about himself or his own beliefs. Perhaps the biggest example was his recent beef with Robert Griffin III, which is an entirely different can of worms not worth opening today. Suffice it to say, Clark's gift of gab may be wildly entertaining to the ESPN cast and crew, but it has a very different reaction from the audience they're trying to appeal to. ESPN NFL Analyst Taking Heat For Joke About Jesus' Resurrection first appeared on The Spun on Aug 20, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
