Anthony Hernandez Focused on UFC Title: 'All This Other S--t Doesn’t Really Matter'

Shortly after his hard-fought triumph against Brendan Allen in the UFC Seattle co-headliner, Anthony Hernandez alluded to struggling with some illness-related issues leading up to the bout.

“I plan on getting better for the next one,” Hernandez told Michael Bisping in the Octagon. “I’m sorry about the performance. I just finished my antibiotics yesterday. I was sick as f—k. But I came here and I made the s—t happen. Hope you guys enjoyed the show.”

“Fluffy” was able to elaborate on what he was dealing with during Saturday’s post-fight press conference, while also revealing some additional injury issues that hindered his performance.

“Let’s just say I got off amoxicillin Friday,” Hernandez said. “I felt like s--t, and I’m not going to lie: I messed up my ribs two weeks ago. My ribs were f---ed before. It was just thank God for the [UFC Performance Institute]. They were here and they helped me every f---ing day. We got it to be good enough for the fight and went out there and made it happen.”

That medication also made Hernandez’s weight cut more challenging.

“Dude, the f---ing pills. The amoxicillin was holding weight,” he said. “I talked to the PI people, too, and they said the same thing. When you’re on antibiotics it’s very hard to cut weight. While my body was trying to recover, I’m trying to deplete it. It was just a nightmare, but I’m pretty f---ing tough between the ears and made it happen.”

Despite those issues, Hernandez was able to outgrapple and outscramble Allen to extend his UFC winning streak at 185 pounds to seven. It was the second victory for Hernandez against Allen after previously besting “All In” via unanimous decision in a title bout under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner in 2018.

“He’s still really f---ing good, tough motherf---er. He’s exactly who I thought he was going to be, who the coaches thought he was going to be,” Hernandez said. “My hat’s off to Brendan Allen. I’ve got so much love for the guy. I told him, Bro, ‘Can we quit f---ing fighting?’ If we’re going to fight again, I hope it’s for a f---ing belt because I really do like the guy.”

With recent victories over Allen, Michel Pereira and Roman Kopylov on his ledger, Hernandez is rising up the ranks of contenders in the UFC’s middleweight division. Still, “Fluffy” has only one goal in mind.

“It’s a blessing, but at the same time, I’m still not happy because the only thing I want is the damn belt,” Hernandez said. “All this other s--t doesn’t really matter to me. It’s like, all right, cool: We did it. But I expected to do this. It’s just like I was telling the coaches: It’s back to work on Monday. I’ll be in the gym.”

When it comes to his next opponent, Hernandez is only interested in facing an opponent who gets him closer to that goal.

“ Honestly, I don’t really give a f--k. Give me somebody who is going to prove that I’m ready for a title shot. Anyone from [No.] 5 up, I’d love to fight,” he said.