There has been a lot of talk about killer instinct in the Octagon lately, stemming from the fallout of Ian Garry’s performance in his UFC welterweight title fight loss against Islam Makhachev last week at UFC 330. It must have been that bothersome to UFC CEO and President Dana White, as he went on a rant about it not just during last week’s UFC 330 post-fight press conference, but this week’s following UFC Sacramento as well.
Fortunately for White, two of the more popular middleweight contenders, Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues and Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, showed exactly what happens when two warriors who have that killer instinct concept within them dig down deep to find a needed big-stage performance. Their UFC Sacramento main event more than delivered, and both men showed they are legitimate contenders in the UFC’s 185-pound division.
Going into the fight, many previews, from the UFC’s to various within MMA media, had the same ideas and expectations. Many did not expect that the fight would go a full 25 minutes. Many expected one of two things would happen: “Fluffy” would get inside on Rodrigues and use his expert-level grappling to take him down and control the action on the ground, or “Robocop” was going to make Hernandez eat his power and bring this one to a close within the first 10 minutes or so.
Instead, we got both fighters having their moments, looking to score their respective kind of finishes, especially Rodrigues coming close on a couple of occasions, as the two delivered a barnburner that earned Fight of the Night honors.
Hernandez attempted to get this to be his kind of fight early, pressing Rodrigues to the fence during the first round a couple of times. He was unable to do much significant activity with these attempts, however, as Rodrigues was able to get out of his grasp and force the fight toward the center, where (as expected) he’d get the upper hand in the striking exchanges.
In fact, “Robocop” took over more in the second round, as that became a stand-and-trade round. There, he knocked Hernandez down a few times with leg kicks, battering the base of “Fluffy” while tagging him with Rodrigues’ signature strength. It was perhaps one of the closest opportunities Rodrigues had of finishing the fight.
But just as things looked grim for “Fluffy,” he was able to gain some control in a solid third-round performance. Hernandez scored a near-immediate takedown on Rodrigues to start the frame. From there, he was able to have a fairly easy time as he worked toward Rodrigues’ back and got an arm around him, landing significant head strikes and threatening chokes during that span. While Rodrigues survived the round, he had his back to the wall – literally and figuratively – during these five minutes.
We went back to striking exchanges aplenty in the fourth round, and Rodrigues took control right back, showcasing his power once again. Hernandez, however, ate the strikes well, and he even scored another takedown late in the round.
Needing a finish, Hernandez looked to take control back with his grappling in the fifth. But Rodrigues solidified the fight in his favor by getting out of his grasp midway through the round and landing one more leg-kick-induced knockdown in the fight’s final minute, with some solid ground-and-pound to follow.
For “Fluffy,” the loss is unfortunate. After an eight-fight win streak that earned him four performance bonuses, he’s now dropped both fights he’s had in 2026. But there is no shame in losing this kind of fight. And the other name he lost to? Sean Strickland – who went on three months later to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship. Even in defeat, Hernandez has shown why he belongs in the top 10 at middleweight.
And for “Robocop,” this now marks four straight wins and seven victories in his last eight fights. He should have a ranking come Monday that places him just outside the top five. He’s probably still a couple of fights away from a title fight, but there’s no doubt he’s earned himself another big opportunity in his next fight.
And for a card with various exciting finishes and performances like UFC Sacramento had, this was the appropriate main event that it deserved. Hats off to both gentlemen.
