Fighters react to Sean Strickland's upset of Anthony Hernandez at UFC Fight Night 267

[ASFN Admin]

Sean Strickland is back in the middleweight contender mix after a significant upset of Anthony Hernandez in the UFC Fight Night 267 main event.

Former champion Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) returned from a yearlong layoff on Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston and ended the winning streak of Hernandez (15-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) by third-round TKO to put his name in the conversation for another opportunity to compete for 185-pound gold.

Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Strickland beating Hernandez at UFC Fight Night 267.

MAIN EVENT IS HERE @SStricklandMMA & Anthony Hernandez are set for 25 minutes tonight!

[ #UFCHouston | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/vgpvezvmoV

— UFC (@ufc) February 22, 2026

In the wings! Who you got at #UFCHouston?!

@SStricklandMMA vs Anthony Hernandez

[ @Sportsnet & @TVASports ] pic.twitter.com/zs6QCHIhlM

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) February 22, 2026

The #UFCHouston MAIN EVENT is here!

Who wins: Sean Strickland or Anthony Hernandez?

Full coverage: https://t.co/HtODjBjoVXpic.twitter.com/Kb1EOC0lgG

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 22, 2026

It's finally main event time

[ #UFCHouston | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/xV8t7CG7Ai

— UFC (@ufc) February 22, 2026

#UFCHouston

— Imavov Nassourdine (@imavov1) February 22, 2026

Strickland slips, and fans think it was a knockdown and go wild for Hernandez. "Fluffy" chants drown out any other thoughts in the now-packed Toyota Center. #UFCHouston

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) February 22, 2026

Decent round. Strickland probably edges it, but liked what we saw from Fluffy in the last 2 minutes or so.

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 22, 2026

Sean really established the jab the first round and caught him with overhands. Round 1 Strickland. #UFCHouston

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 22, 2026

Strickland RD 1 #UFC

— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) February 22, 2026

Anytime Fluffy begins to walk forward with a combo, Sean is already getting ready to stuff a takedown.

1-2 for Sean, hits guard but still. Jab still putting in work tho. #UFCHouston

— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) February 22, 2026

Sean looking great in round 2. #UFCHouston

— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) February 22, 2026

Fluffy vs Strickland is about as frustrating as I expected it to be and it's only round 2

— Josie Aldo (@JosieAldoMMA) February 22, 2026

Fluffy hasn’t cut the cage off once, he’s just following Strickland around even though he’s moving forward. Strickland looks like the best physical shape maybe that he’s been. If either guy goes low and leads with attacks to the body it’ll pay off, for Strickland to keep the…

— “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (@FilthyTomLawlor) February 22, 2026

Strickland is leading the dance through two rounds #UFCHouston

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 22, 2026

20-18 Strickland

His jab is negating Hernandez’s pressure and has stopped him from getting going.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 22, 2026

FLUFFY IS FADING!!!!! SEAN GOING IN!!!! BIG TIME SHOTS!!!!

FLUFFY DROPS!!!!

THAT'S IT!!!!

SEAN STRICKLAND!!!!! #UFCHouston

— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) February 22, 2026

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS @SStricklandMMA earns a TKO tonight in Round 3!

[ #UFCHouston | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/rv3yq5ZLfe

— UFC (@ufc) February 22, 2026

Impressive!

— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) February 22, 2026

“The former Champ”….. when talking about Strickland, blows my mind dude is tough but f***, feel like he couldn’t carry my jockstrap! With that being said, congrats, Champ! #UFCHouston

— Dustin Jacoby (@thehanyakdj) February 22, 2026

Sean looked lock in nasty work just was a step a head all night

— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) February 22, 2026

Congrats @SStricklandMMA , post fight speech about to be…

— Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) February 22, 2026

Sean Strickland is not always exciting, but man is he effective. Absolutely flawless tonight. #UFCHouston

— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) February 22, 2026

Fluffy krptonite is the body

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 22, 2026

Sean Strickland returns from a yearlong layoff to stop Anthony Hernandez in the #UFCHouston main event. pic.twitter.com/33xRBQ5SxF

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 22, 2026

#UFCHouston results: Sean Strickland def. Anthony Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:23

Full coverage: https://t.co/HtODjBjoVXpic.twitter.com/XgdzWThTNK

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 22, 2026

My dream. Bring me tha clown for the crown @ufc#UFCHouston

— Imavov Nassourdine (@imavov1) February 22, 2026

That’s what nothing but hours and hours of sparring gets you. Just show up and crap spar everyday and voila! Overthink nothing. Who gives a fudge! Haha! Sean is great!

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 22, 2026

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Houston: Fighters react to Sean Strickland beating Anthony Hernandez

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