Sean Strickland vs. Anthony Hernandez UFC Houston Preview and Prediction
The UFC returns this weekend with UFC Fight Night 267. This event is scheduled for Saturday, February 21, and will be held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
UFC Fight Night 267 will consist of 14 bouts in total, including six fights on the preliminary card and eight fights on the main card. The action will conclude with the main event, which will feature a middleweight fight between the third-ranked Sean Strickland and the fourth-ranked Anthony Hernandez.
With both fighters ranked inside the top five, the winner should be in position for a title fight.
Sean Strickland vs. Anthony Hernandez Odds and Betting Trends
When analyzing the MMA odds for this main event, Anthony Hernandez has been set as the overwhelming favourite. He is currently listed at -310 odds, while Strickland is a huge underdog at +230.
Other popular betting markets suggest that this fight will go the distance (-136), while backing the fight to end inside the distance is available at +108.
Further, the most likely result of this fight, based on the odds, is for Hernandez to win by decision at +135, while backing Hernandez to win by any finish gives you odds of +175.
Sean Strickland
Strickland enters this fight with an MMA record of 29-7 and is 16-7 in the UFC. His most recent fight resulted in a loss to Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision back in February 2025.
Throughout his MMA career, Strickland has mostly been a one-dimensional fighter. He is an elite striker, averaging 5.95 significant strikes per minute with a striking accuracy of 42 per cent.
This is compared to his average-at-best grappling, where he is averaging 0.73 takedowns every 15 minutes. Despite his lack of grappling, Strickland has a takedown accuracy of 64 per cent and a takedown defence of 76 per cent.
Anthony Hernandez
Hernandez enters this fight with an MMA record of 15-2 and is 9-2 in the UFC. His most recent fight was a win against Roman Dolidze by submission back in August 2025. Unlike Strickland, Hernandez has always been a balanced MMA fighter, especially in the UFC. He is averaging 4.59 significant strikes per minute, while absorbing just 2.53 strikes per minute.
As for his grappling ability, Hernandez is averaging 6.46 takedowns every 15 minutes and is averaging 1.8 submission attempts every 15 minutes. Further, he has a takedown accuracy of 48 per cent and a takedown defence of 68 per cent.
UFC Fight Night 267 Prediction: Who Will Win Strickland vs. Hernandez?
Because Hernandez is the overwhelming favourite against Strickland, I am looking for this fight to end inside the distance. Strickland has only seen one of his last five UFC fights end inside the distance, but Hernandez has seen nine of his 11 UFC fights finish before going to the judges.
Strickland certainly has the advantage in striking volume, but lacks in terms of his grappling ability. That said, both fighters have previously showcased their ability to end fights quickly, especially Hernandez.
For that reason, backing this main event fight to end inside the distance (+108) will be my best bet for Saturday.