Anthony Hernandez admits he’s not quite sure what the UFC’s intentions are by flying him out to Chicago this week.
Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) scored a dominant submission finish of Roman Dolidze (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 72 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Hernandez later revealed that the organization will be flying him out to Chicago to attend Saturday’s UFC 319 middleweight title fight between champion Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) at United Center. With Nassourdine Imavov taking on Caio Borralho on Sept. 6 in Paris, and Reinier de Ridder outlasting Robert Whittaker last month at UFC on ABC 9, many fighters are in the running for the next title shot.
So why is the UFC flying out Hernandez?
“I have no f*cking idea, but I’m going to go find out,” Hernandez told MMA Junkie Radio on Monday. “Hopefully it’s good, though. I feel like it’s a good sign. Especially with showing out that close to the fight, I think it’s good.”
Although he’s on an eight-fight winning streak, “Fluffy” is aware he’ll likely have to fight one more time before getting his desired title shot.
“For sure, I get that the division is crazy,” Hernandez said. “I was actually talking to Caio, and I’m like I’d hate to be the matchmaker right now because sh*t’s going crazy right now. The middleweight division’s been on fire, which is great for all of us.”
