Anthony Hernandez tips his cap to Gregory Rodrigues and his toughness in the UFC Fight Night 285 main event Saturday – but there's one thing he didn't appreciate.
For five rounds, Hernandez (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Rodrigues (20-6 MMA, 11-3 UFC) battled back-and-forth. Though he lost a unanimous decision, Hernandez displayed heart and unbreakable will in front of his home city fans at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. The pair of middleweight contenders also earned Fight of the Night honors and the $100,000 bonus associated with it.
"A dream come true," Hernandez said at a post-fight news conference. "Obviously, I've got to get back to work and clean some shit up. Next time I'll give you guys a win. I promise. ... (The crowd support) was f*cking ... a blessing. It was crazy. That's what kept me going. I couldn't give up. That sh*t hurt like a f*cking b*tch, man. It still hurts. It was a real f*cking blessing. I feel so honored to have that much love. Hopefully they come back to Sac so I can show out again. I'd love to give you guys more wars like that."
Hernandez became hobbled early as Rodriguez repeatedly chopped down his legs, causing him to shift from orthodox to southpaw. Hernandez rallied in Round 2 and nearly finished the fight, but "Robocop" hung tough.
One issue Hernandez took with Rodrigues was his grip around the glove area. According to Hernandez, Rodrigues had his fingers inside the glove – and he told referee Herb Dean as much mid-fight.
"He's a tough son of a b*tch, man," Hernandez said. "I hit him with the kitchen sink, hit him with some hard elbows. F*cker was cheating and grabbing inside my gloves. I told Herb that. I fight clean, man. It is what it is. Maybe I should be more dirty.
"I told f*cking Herb, 'This motherf*cker grabbed my glove like four times.' I was like, 'Hey, he's grabbing my gloves,' and he told him, 'Hey, stop.' Don't take a point. Whatever. F*ck it. I guess people like to cheat, so it is what it is," Hernandez said.
Hernandez said he thinks he made plenty of mistakes Saturday, which he means he'll have lots of material to study what he needs to improve on. If he has his way, fight fans certainly haven't seen the last of – or the best of – "Fluffy."
"I hurt my leg early, had to make adjustments, and had to do what I had to do to survive at that point," Hernandez said. "Gregory is a tough son of a b*tch and he hits f*cking hard. You see what he does to people. He hits them and puts them to sleep. I was still smiling. I was still coming forward. I love people trying to hurt me. I don't know what it is. I'm a sick f*ck in the head, but I love this sh*t, man."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Anthony Hernandez reveals what he told Herb Dean during UFC Sacramento fight: 'F*cker was cheating'
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