UFC president Dana White praised Anthony Hernandez following his war in the main event of UFC Sacramento against Gregory Rodrigues.
Hernandez lost a unanimous decision in his hometown of Sacramento to Rodrigues, who pulled off the upset as the betting underdog, but it was an amazing fight regardless of the result, as both men left everything in the cage during their all-out, five-round war.
Dana White Praises Anthony Hernandez
Following UFC Sacramento, White spoke to the media at the event’s post-fight press conference and had nothing but praise for Hernandez.
“Tonight, his leg got busted up. Realistically, most normal guys, that fight probably would have been over in the second round. But again, I think the crowd was firing him up tonight, and he showed a ton of heart, and this is one of those fights – especially in your home state, your hometown – you gain so much respect. You didn’t win the fight, but you gained a lot of respect,” White said (via MMAjunkie.com).
The loss to Rodrigues was Hernandez’s second straight defeat in 2026, following a TKO loss to current UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland earlier this year. Given that Hernandez entered the year on an eight-fight win streak, seeing him lose two straight bouts this year has been surprising to see. But he remains a top-10-ranked middleweight, so he should get another big fight his next time out, especially since this fight with Rodrigues won FOTN.
Dana White Impressed by Sacramento Crowd
Saturday’s UFC Sacramento card was the first UFC event in California’s capital since July 2019, when Germaine de Randamie knocked out Aspen Ladd.
White said he was impressed by the Sacramento crowd and hinted at a return.
“The crowd was literally amazing here tonight. It was absolutely awesome. There’s a lot of spots that we’ve got to hit. COVID, we’re still sort of recovering from that. There’s a lot of places we haven’t been. And I mean, Philly was just incredible last weekend, too. We haven’t been there in a long time. But, yeah, Sacramento’s fun, and it’s a nice flight for us from Vegas, too,” White said.
Dana White Praises Anthony Hernandez After UFC Sacramento