UFC Fight Night: Anthony Hernandez vs Gregory Rodrigues Preview & Prediction

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A five-round middleweight main event with title eliminator implications, Anthony Hernandez returns from his first defeat in six years against a surging Gregory Rodrigues.

Anthony Hernandez vs Gregory Rodrigues facts

What time are Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues expected to walk out? 23 August 2026 at 3:00 am

Where is UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs Rodrigues? Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, USA

Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs Rodrigues? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 285

What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs Rodrigues on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount

Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs Rodrigues? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs Rodrigues main card

Anthony Hernandez vs Gregory Rodrigues (Middleweight)

Serghei Spivac vs Vitor Petrino (Heavyweight)

Reinier de Ridder vs Roman Dolidze (Light Heavyweight)

Mason Jones vs MarQuel Mederos (Lightweight)

Carli Judice vs Jeisla Chaves (Women's Flyweight)

Terrance Chatman vs Anthony Wint (Heavyweight)

UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs Rodrigues prelims

Jamall Emmers vs Lerryan Douglas (Featherweight)

Kennedy Nzechukwu vs Shamil Gaziev (Heavyweight)

Nasrat Haqparast vs Chris Padilla (Lightweight)

Marcio Barbosa vs Ryan Kuse (Featherweight)

Gauge Young vs Stanley Dorsainvil (Lightweight)

Wesley Schultz vs Jackson McVey (Middleweight)

Shanelle Dyer vs Elise Reed (Women's Strawweight)

Anthony Hernandez: “Fluffy” restarts the run that almost reached the belt

Anthony Hernandez (15-3) had won eight straight and was a fight away from a title shot before current champion Sean Strickland stopped him in Houston in February, a knee to the body opening the door for the finishing punches. Before that the 32-year-old had run through Roman Dolidze, Brendan Allen, Michel Pereira and Roman Kopylov, six of those eight wins in the streak arriving inside the distance. He fights at a relentless pace, suffocating top control, and a takedown rate that sits among the most aggressive in the division at nearly six per fifteen minutes.

Gregory Rodrigues: “Robocop” turns up in the best form of his career

Gregory Rodrigues (19-6) has won three fights straight and six out of his last seven. He most recently avenged an old loss by flattening Brunno Ferreira with a single right hand at UFC 326. Before that came a first-round finish over Jack Hermansson and a decision over Roman Kopylov. The 34-year-old Brazilian is a decorated BJJ black belt who fights like anything but, pressing forwards patiently, hunting to land the big shots whilst mixing in heavy low kicks. His only recent loss came to Jared Cannonier in the fourth.

Anthony Hernandez vs Gregory Rodrigues prediction

Early power VS later-rounds cardio. Rodrigues carries the round one and two knockout danger. Every minute beyond that, Hernandez’s chance of winning shoots up.

The obvious worry for Hernandez is the body. Strickland ended him with a knee to the body, and that blueprint is now sitting on tape for everybody to see. Fortunately for Hernandez, Rodrigues head-hunts by instinct. Yes he has the tools to attack the body, but he doesn’t naturally go downstairs unless instructed.

Everything else favours the pressure. Cannonier found a takedown fairly easily on Rodrigues, and Hernandez is a far better wrestler than Cannonier, shooting at a volume almost nobody at 185 sustains. We also see Rodrigues starting to slow down when opponents refuse to fold, and we rarely see him fighting on the backfoot. Hernandez presses forward to set up the level change, which means Rodrigues has to be dangerous in retreat, and there’s not much evidence to say he’s as effective fighting backwards as he is forwards.

Survive the first ten minutes and Hernandez will start to drown Robocop. Either way, I don’t see this fight going the distance.

Prediction: Fight to not go the distance