After kicking down the door and trashing the body who was trespassing on his claimed property, Alex Hernandez has made himself quite comfortable in his new home. You can see it in his body language, the cadence of his voice, and the authenticity behind his words. When asked about his opponent for UFC Calgary, Olivier Aubin-Mercier’s tendency to bring his opponents gifts and behave in a light-hearted fashion during fight week, Hernandez commented that he does not believe his opponent tomorrow night contains the same level of authenticity:
“I think it’s a compensation,” Hernandez told reports at UFC Calgary Media Day. “It’s insecurities. And you’re trying to forge these alliances…these pseudo-friendships, so that way you feel comfort before a fight or whatever you need to sleep peacefully. And I’m not gonna sway that. I’m not gonna buy into it. I’m not gonna alleviate his tension and his fear of me. I think it’s a compensation for being nervous, for being fearful.”
When asked about Aubin-Mercier’s Canadian Gangster persona, Hernandez’s response was tantamount to, “whatever:”
“I’m indifferent about it,” Hernandez said. “It means nothing to me. I’m not a fan. I’m not a hater. He just does his thing, and I’ll do mine, and mine will be superior to his.”
When the conversation moved to how Hernandez envisioned the fight going tomorrow night, he described why he believes the match should look similar to his debut fight against Beneil Dariush.
“I think it’s gonna be pretty similar to Dariush…both very left-handed heavy, fortes in grappling,” Hernandez assessed. “They like to push the pressure against the cage. I think if he comes out and he’s confident off of that last fight, then he will be rendered unconscious by my right hand pretty quickly. If he’s feeling bashful that night, and he resorts to his innate grappling abilities and decides to take a desperate shot, then we’ll let the fight unfold there. But I think I’m gonna have my way with him, and he’s gonna feel the pressure pretty immediately, and those nerves will build, and he’ll start to act out of character.”
UFC on FOX 30 takes place on Saturday, July 28, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Canada.
