RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: (L-R) Gregory Rodrigues of Brazil punches Anthony Hernandez in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Golden 1 Center on August 22, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez dropped a hard-fought decision to Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues in the main event of UFC Sacramento on Saturday night (Aug. 22, 2026), but it was “Robocop” that ended up being rolled out of the arena in a wheelchair, not “Fluffy.”
That’s pretty surprising given the amount of effective leg kicks Rodrigues landed that dropped the local hero multiple times over their five round fight … Joe Rogan would be proud. Hernandez gritted things out and stayed in the fight until the final bell, losing with 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47 scores.
“I made a couple mistakes,” Hernandez said at the UFC Sacramento post-fight press conference. “But man, when I took this fight, I was injured. Out for seven months. So I knew what I had coming into this. I had a f–king shoulder injury. I just got injections on Saturday so I wouldn’t feel my shoulder. All the f–king odds stacked against me.”
HUGE END TO ROUND 2 FOR FLUFFY AFTER BEING DROPPED MULTIPLE TIMES WITH LEG KICKS FROM ROBOCOP 🤯 #UFCSacramento pic.twitter.com/A82eo4PJ4U
— Combat Casuals (@Combat_Casuals) August 23, 2026
“I had to hurry up [my] camp, and I went out there and did what I did. So I’m proud of myself, at the end of the day. That’s it.”
As if fighting through an injured shoulder after a shortened camp wasn’t tough enough, Hernandez also called out Rodrigues for repeatedly grabbing his gloves, and referee Herb Dean for letting it happen (again).
“I seen him slow down [after the 2nd round],” Hernandez said. “I thought, ‘Okay, I’m gonna get him this round.’ And I hit him a few times and rocked his s–t. He’s a tough son of a bitch, man. I hit him with everything and the kitchen sink, hit him with some hard elbows.”
“F–ker was cheating and grabbing the inside of my gloves, and I told Herb that,” he added. “I fight clean, man. So it is what it is. Maybe I should be more dirty.”
The utmost respect 🤝 Anthony Hernandez and @Gregory_MMA met backstage following their 5-round clash at #UFCSacramento ! pic.twitter.com/5VxplBhbBI
— UFC (@ufc) August 23, 2026
This is Hernandez’s second loss in a row after losing to Sean Strickland back in February. That fight was in Houston, and “Fluffy” was a clear crowd favorite then. The crowd went even crazier for him in him hometown of Sacramento, clearly proving Hernandez has that rare ‘It’ factor that promoters are looking for.
UFC CEO Dana White spoke with Hernandez following the loss and gave the 32-year-old some words of support.
“After the fight he told me, ‘Man, a fight like that, nobody loses,'” Hernandez said. “So he said, ‘Keep your head up, kid.’ He said, ‘I don’t wanna be you for the next couple of days. Your leg’s gonna hurt like a b–ch.’ But like I told him, I’ll be back on the 31st with the [UFC Performance Institute], fix my s–t up, and I’mma get sharp and not get caught off guard next time.”
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