{"id":488288,"date":"2026-02-20T19:29:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T19:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/488288\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T19:29:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T19:29:14","slug":"sean-strickland-vs-anthony-hernandez-fight-card-picks-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/488288\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean Strickland vs. Anthony Hernandez Fight Card Picks & Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UFC returns to Houston, TX this Saturday (February 21), and MMA KO\u2019s Drew Beaupr\u00e9 is here to provide predictions for all 14 fights on the card. <\/p>\n

The main event will see Anthony Hernandez try to extend his eight-fight win streak when he takes on former middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland, who is coming off a failed bid to reclaim the division\u2019s title in a rematch with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312.<\/p>\n

The co-main event is welterweight contest featuring the division\u2019s #12-ranked contender Geoff Neal and Uros Medic. Neal will be tasked with defending his spot in the welterweight Top 15 after going 1-3 across his last four fights, while Medic will be eager to crack the rankings after adding back-to-back first-round finishes to a professional fighting record that\u2019s never seen him go to the judges\u2019 scorecards. <\/p>\n

UFC Houston Main Card Predictions Sean Strickland vs. Anthony Hernandez\"Anthony<\/p>\n

Anthony Hernandez (blue gloves) leaves the ring after defeating Brendan Allen (red gloves) in the middleweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Climate Pledge Arena. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Hernandez should absolutely be favored here, but I do wonder how much success he\u2019s going to have trying to take Strickland down. That being said, he\u2019ll still be the far more active striker on the feet, and it\u2019s hard to trust Strickland to really go for the win after his last few performances. <\/p>\n

(Pick: Hernandez)<\/p>\n

READ MORE: UFC Reportedly Moving Fight Card to City That’s Waited Almost 10 Years for UFC Return<\/a><\/p>\n

Geoff Neal vs. Uros Medic\"Geoff<\/p>\n

Geoff Neal (red gloves) fights Carlos Prates (blue gloves) during UFC 319 at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Medic\u2019s kill-or-be-killed style could allow him to catch Neal with a big shot<\/a>, but I think it\u2019s more likely that \u201cHandz of Steel\u201d picks up a knockout-win of his own and defend his spot in the UFC welterweight rankings.<\/p>\n

(Pick: Neal)<\/p>\n

Dan Ige vs. Melquizael Costa\"Dan<\/p>\n

Dan Ige (red gloves) reacts after defeating Sean Woodson (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

This featherweight matchup has clear \u201cFight of the Night\u201d potential, and I\u2019m going to pick the longtime UFC veteran in Ige to halt Costa\u2019s impressive win streak. <\/p>\n

(Pick: Ige)<\/p>\n

Serghei Spivac vs. Ante Delija
\"Ante<\/p>\n

Ante Delija (blue gloves) before the fight against Marcin Tybura (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Accor Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The card\u2019s lone heavyweight bout will see Spivac enter the cage looking to avoid a three-fight skid, but Delija will be carrying a chip on his shoulder following his controversial loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(Pick: Delija)<\/p>\n

Jacobe Smith vs. Josiah Harrell\"Niko<\/p>\n

Niko Price (red gloves) fights Jacobe Smith (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not often you get to see two undefeated fighters square off once they\u2019ve reached the UFC. I expect that Harrell will find some success in the promotion, but I have to pick Smith based on the performances in his first two UFC bouts. <\/p>\n

(Pick: Smith)<\/p>\n

Zach Reese vs. Michel Pereira\"Michel<\/p>\n

Michel Pereira (red gloves) fights Ihor Potieria (blue gloves) during UFC 301 at Rio Arena. | Jason Silva-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Pereira would probably have been a heavy favorite in this matchup prior to his current losing skid, and I\u2019m siding with the Brazilian to get back on track in Houston.<\/p>\n

(Pick: Pereira)<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Undefeated UFC Finishing Machine Gets New Opponent in Late-Notice Change to UFC 326<\/a><\/p>\n

UFC Houston Preliminary Card PredictionsChidi Njokuani vs. Carlos Leal\"Carlos<\/p>\n

Carlos Leal fights Rinat Fakhretdinov at UFC 308. | (Craig Kidwell\/MMA Junkie)<\/p>\n

This might be the most underrated matchup on the entire card, and even though he faces a significant reach disadvantage I do think that Leal will hold the edge in punching power. <\/p>\n

(Pick: Leal)<\/p>\n

Ode Osbourne vs. Alibi Idiris\"Alibi<\/p>\n

Alibi Idiris (red gloves) fights Joseph Morales (blue gloves) during UFC 319 at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Following an upset-loss in his UFC debut, I expect Idiris will get back on track here and potentially bounce Osbourne from the UFC in the process.<\/p>\n

(Pick: Idiris)<\/p>\n

Alden Coria vs. Luis Gurule\"Alden<\/p>\n

Alden Coria (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Alessandro Costa (red gloves) during Noche UFC at Frost Bank Center. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

An 0-3 start to his Octagon career would almost certainly spell the end of Gurule\u2019s time with the UFC, and the promotion hasn\u2019t done him any favors with this matchup against Coria.<\/p>\n

(Pick: Coria)<\/p>\n

Nora Cornolle vs. Joselyne Edwards\"Joselyne<\/p>\n

Joselyne Edwards (blue gloves) rects after defeating Chelsea Chandler (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

This matchup presents Edwards with a huge chance to climb the rankings and also put together the best run of her UFC career with four-straight wins. <\/p>\n

(Pick: Edwards)<\/p>\n

Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Punahele Soriano\"Ramiz<\/p>\n

Ramiz Brahimaj (red gloves) reacts adoring the fight against Austin Vanderford (blue gloves) during UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Both of these men are looking to secure their respective fourth wins in a row, and I think Brahimaj\u2019s ground game will be the difference in a fight that looks almost certain to produce a finish.<\/p>\n

(Pick: Brahimaj)<\/p>\n

Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani vs. Phil Rowe\"Phil<\/p>\n

Phil Rowe (red gloves) fights Ange Loosa (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at State Farm Arena. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Possibly fighting for his place on the UFC roster, I\u2019m going to slightly lean with Rowe to utilize his height and reach advantage and spoil Lebosnoyani\u2019s promotional debut.<\/p>\n

(Pick: Rowe)<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Gable Steveson Survives Head Kick & Moves Closer to UFC With Latest MMA Win<\/a><\/p>\n

Yadier del Valle vs. Jordan Leavitt\"Yadier<\/p>\n

Yadier del Valle during his fight with Isaac Dulgarian. | (Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Leavitt\u2019s grappling skills should hopefully make this an entertaining scrap, but I still expect that del Valle will get his hand raised and start to distance himself from that controversial fight with Isaac Dulgarian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(Pick: del Valle)Carli Judice vs. Julianna Miller\"Carli<\/p>\n

Carli Judice (red gloves) fights against Nicolle Caliari (blue gloves) during UFC 318 at Smoothie King Center. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

This could get interesting if Judice gives Miller opportunities to work on the ground, but it\u2019s hard to pick against \u201cCrispy\u201d here with how impressive she\u2019s looked in her last two fights.<\/p>\n

(Pick: Judice)<\/p>\n

MMA KO has been providing comprehensive coverage for UFC Houston all throughout fight week, and be sure to check back with us as for live results and highlights on fight night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UFC returns to Houston, TX this Saturday (February 21), and MMA KO\u2019s Drew Beaupr\u00e9 is here to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":["post-488288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}