Alex Hernandez is one of the brightest standouts in arguably the deepest division in the UFC, the lightweight division. Getting off to a hot 2-0 start, with a first-round KO of Beneil Dariush followed by a unanimous decision victory over Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Hernandez has earned and maintained a spot in the lightweight rankings at #13. Now, it is onward and upward for the 25-year-old, who does not have a name in mind for his next opponent, as long as it facilitates his rise to the top of the division:
“I want someone in that upper tier,” Hernandez said on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.” I’m waiting to see. There’s, I think, maybe three or four guys that have matchups coming up, so I’d like to (fight a) winner of them. There’s Vick and Gaethje, Pettis just came off a win, Al Iaquinta..I don’t know if he’s fighting or…I don’t know what he’s doing anymore, but if he chose to step up, that’d be excellent. Any one of these boys can get it. I’m not picking favorites. I’m not nitpicking.
“There’s a line of athletic killers behind me. And truthfully, I think to some extent, the young snappers coming up are more deadly than the ones being ranked. And everybody’s trying to take my spot, and they can get in line. They need to get on my radar.”
When asked about Islam Makhachev who recently issued a challenge to Hernandez, stating he would like to “examine” him, Hernandez said that Makhachev did not make the “radar list.”
“He’s not on the radar,” Hernandez said. “I don’t need a matchup. I don’t need a body type. But I do want the progression. I need a number. I need a number. And so I’m trying to move forward. It’s a crescendo to the top. He’s not in the trajectory. He’s not even on the radar. So he has no interest or no value.”
Whom would you like to see Alexander Hernandez fight next?
