UFC Fight Night Predictions: Sean Strickland – Anthony Hernandez (21-02-2026)

UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Hernandez (also known as UFC Fight Night 267) is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that is scheduled to take place on February 21, 2026 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States.

A middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland and former LFA Middleweight Champion Anthony Hernandez is scheduled to headline the event.

7 ranked UFC heavyweight Serghei Spivac finally prepares to return to the octagon after two cancelled bouts in a row. The Polar Bear has not won a fight since 2024 and now is on 2 fights losing streak, so this fight can be crucial for his future contract with the company.

The Moldovan fighter now is 17-6 in his pro MMA career, but 8-6 in the UFC. 47% of his wins were via submission as he has submitted already such names as Marcin Tybura and Derrick Lewis. However, his past two bouts were a different matter, since the heavyweight lost to Jailton Almeida after being outclassed in the clinch and on the ground.

His last clash was back in 2025 June as Spivac fought against a new division prospect Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Serghei completed two takedowns, but was not capable of putting any damage on the ground and got outstruck on the feet, losing via decision 27-30, 28-29, 28-29.

One of the biggest newcomers of the heavyweight class division Ante Delija showed that he is mortal. The Croatian debuted with the organisation only in September 2025 and did it very impressively as he put one of the division’s veterans Marcin Tybura away in the 1st round.

He obviously came into his second fight as a favourite, but got surprised by one of the rarest calls in UFC history. Ante pressed Waldo next to the cage and opened fire with numerous punches which led the referee to stop the fight. However, the opponent claimed that he was eye-poked before the exchange and after the video review the referee decided to raise Acosta’s hand.

Although, throughout his career Ante fought very few decorated wrestlers, he did not face any real danger in the clinch positions or on the ground for years. His last submission loss was back in 2014 at the beginning of his MMA road and since then the Croatian showed a lot of improvement in the grappling phase.

S.Spivac is on a poor run and his latest fights exposed his limited striking and the fact that his grappling is not enough to win the fights or even to get a dominant situation. We are picking Ante Delija to win this fight due to his advantage on feet and great in clinch situation management .

Uros Medic has a great chance to break through into the top 15 after this fight versus #12 ranked Geoff Neal. The Serbian had a slow start and was 4-3 with the organisation, but in the second half of 2025 impressed everyone with two straight wins.

Firstly, The Doctor sparked Gilbert Urbina with a 1st round straight left KO and then went on to fight another KO artist in Muslim Salikhov. Everyone was sure that the fight wouldn’t last long and they were right. The Serbian again took only a few seconds more than a minute and caught the Russian with a straight left and finished him later on the ground.

Geoff Neal has one of the most impressive resumes in the division and he has fought former champs, current and former #1 contenders and everything else. Recently, the American had a perfect opportunity to climb through the rankings as he has agreed to fight Carlos Prates on short notice.

The risk did not pay off as Geoff got finished just before the 1st round bell with a spinning elbow. This shuttled the fighter way back down in the rankings again and it seems like that it is not destined for him to enter the top5.

Both men have a whopping amount of 12 1st round KO’s and 2 1st round losses in their career combined. Uros Medic’s fights now ended in the first round for 4 straight times while Neal’s 2 last bouts ended with a 1st round finish.

Uros Medic should stick to his usual pressure while Neal showed time and time again that he can counter just as well as punch from the lead, making us pick the rounds under.

Former UFC champion Sean Strickland makes his long awaited return after one year absence. The American had to go back to the drawing board after failing for the second time against Dricus Du Plessis in the title fight.

Yet, the American remained in a good position to potentially get another future title shot as DDP got beat by Khamzat Chimaev who became a new champion. With Strickland remaining in the top 5 as he now is ranked #3, a win over A.Hernandez might get him a shot at the gold as he also had some backstage history with a new belt holder.

Anthony Hernandez had a very difficult beginning as he started off with 1-2 record, but patiently and silently built his name and now is on an incredible 8 fights winning streak. The Mexican fighters’ latest three wins included wins over such big names of the division as Brendan Allen and Roman Dolidze.

Without a doubt he has shown why he is now in the top 5 especially knowing the fact that he is very capable of finishing the fights too as 7 out of his 9 UFC wins are either via submission or KO.

Sean Strickland is just too good to be finished or at least finished early like some of the A.Hernandez opponents. In 36 pro MMA bouts he has never been submitted and it is very unlikely that the Mexican will be that man.

With the majority of Strickland’s fights ending in a decision despite his constant pressure style, we might be in for a not necessarily entertaining and tactical fight. However, in the later rounds the chance of mistake increases even more and knowing the impressive cardio the both men have, we and reputable betting sites are likely to favor a safer rounds under.