UFC Houston fight week continues. This Saturday, the shortest month of the year continues for the top MMA promotion in the world, and Dana White\u2019s promotion finds itself back on the road this coming weekend.<\/p>\n
For the first time in over four years, Toyota Center serves as the host venue for a UFC card. UFC Houston is the 10th time that the promotion will set foot in the Rockets\u2019 home city. Live coverage of UFC Houston begins at 5 pm ET\/ 2 pm PT on Paramount Plus<\/a> with the prelims.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Main card action follows at 8 pm ET\/ 5 pm PT on the streaming platform. Should there be no adjustments to be made in the final days before the card, the schedule<\/a> on Saturday will feature an advertised 13 fights.<\/p>\n UFC Houston Main Event: No. 3 Contender Sean Strickland vs. No. 4 Contender Anthony Hernandez<\/p>\n At the top of the bill on Saturday night,<\/a> the middleweights will be making the walk to the fabled Octagon. No. 3 contender Sean Strickland<\/a> (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) collides with No. 4 contender Anthony Hernandez<\/a> (15-2, 1 NC MMA, 9-2 UFC.) This headliner<\/a> is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.<\/p>\n Sean Strickland enters UFC Houston on Saturday night having posted a record of 3-2 in his last five trips to the cage. He\u2019s coming off of a 54-week hiatus, however. On Feb. 8, 2025, Strickland lost by way of unanimous decision to Dricus du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC.)<\/p>\n While the attention during fight week should be on the fight itself, Strickland came under fire at Wednesday\u2019s media day by making a number of off-color remarks, including coarse language directed at Super Bowl LX halftime show headliner Bad Bunny. As the countdown to the fight continues, it\u2019s time for Strickland to buckle down and focus on his adversary, rather than the world at-large.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Anthony Hernandez makes the walk this weekend with a 5-0 record in his last five fights. All told, \u201cFluffy\u201d is currently on an eight-fight winning streak.<\/p>\n Last time out, he scored a fourth-round rear-naked choke submission against Roman Dolidze (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC.) A planned October contest in Vancouver between Hernandez and Reinier de Ridder never materialized due to the former sustaining an injury.<\/p>\n When a fighter is on a hot streak, as Anthony Hernandez is right now, he or she is nearly impossible to contain. A win here would put Hernandez within shouting distance of the UFC Middleweight Championship.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n UFC Houston Co-Main Event: No. 12 Contender Geoff Neal vs. Uros Medic<\/p>\n Immediately prior to the headlining affair, the co-main attraction of the evening features action taking place at 170 lbs. No. 12 contender Geoff Neal<\/a> (16-7 MMA, 8-5 UFC) takes on Uros Medic<\/a> (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC.) This is a three-round fight at five minutes per round.<\/p>\n Neal enters the weekend having gone 2-3 in his last five fights. Back on Aug. 16, in a rescheduled fight from last April, he lost by way of first-round knockout (spinning back elbow) to Carlos Prates (23-7 MMA, 6-1 UFC) during UFC 319 in Chicago.<\/p>\n This is a crucial fight for Geoff Neal and his camp. Should he lose on Saturday night in Houston, his spot in the top-15 at welterweight could be gone.<\/p>\n Across the way, Uros Medic has posted a record of 3-2 in his past five bouts. He\u2019s won two contests in a row ahead of UFC Houston.<\/p>\n Most recently, he needed only one minute and three seconds to finish off Muslim Salikhov (22-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) with strikes. There are some high stakes for Medic going into Saturday\u2019s co-main event, with a place in the rankings possibly awaiting him on Monday morning, provided he wins again.<\/p>\n UFC Houston: No. 14 Contender Dan Ige vs. Melquizael Costa<\/p>\n Also on the UFC Houston main card, the featherweights do battle when No. 14 contender Dan Ige<\/a> (19-10 MMA, 11-9 UFC) makes his 30th appearance as a professional against Melquizael Costa<\/a> (25-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC.) Ige has posted a mark of 2-3 over his five latest appearances.<\/p>\n In July, he dropped a unanimous decision to Patricio Pitbull (37-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in the latter\u2019s sophomore fight in the promotion. Ige is hovering around .500 in the promotion and could use a win in the twilight of his career. Could UFC Houston be the spark he needs? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n In the other corner, Melquizael Costa has gone undefeated in his last five contests at 5-0. He\u2019s facing a quick turnaround going into Saturday\u2019s bout. On Dec. 13, during the last UFC Fight Night on ESPN, he stopped Morgan Charriere (21-12-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) with a head kick in 74 seconds.<\/p>\n By the time the card begins on Saturday, just 70 days will have elapsed between fights for Costa? Can he go 6-for-6 this weekend?<\/p>\n Rest of the Card<\/p>\n The UFC Houston main card is rounded out by these contests:<\/p>\n