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Alexander Hernandez is hoping to move past some of his recent performances when he meets Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night 219.
“The Great Ape” is currently on a two-fight losing streak after dropping both of his bouts in 2022. His most recent fight against Billy Quarantillo saw the 30-year-old move down to featherweight for the first time in the UFC, but after a strong start he suffered a TKO loss late in the second round.
Hernandez will now make a quick turnaround and return to the lightweight division against longtime UFC veteran Miller. “The Great Ape” explained at the UFC Fight Night 219 media day that he feels his recent struggles have mainly been on the mental side, and now he’s looking to address that with a short-notice opportunity.
“After the last one I was telling my manager and coach…I don’t wanna build this shit up anymore,” Hernandez said. “You know, I don’t wanna do another fourteen, fifteen-week long camp like I’ve been doing my last couple fights. I don’t wanna spend half the year thinking about this one moment. And it’s never become more evident to me than now that this is not a physical issue, it’s a mental issue. And so, mentally I’m really enthusiastic. I’m angry at myself, I wanna get redemption.”
Hernandez Was Ready For A Shorter Camp
The 30-year-old did admit that he was originally looking for another matchup at featherweight, but Hernandez also thinks this fight with Miller is a perfect way to get back on his feet after two-straight losses.
Hernandez was stopped by Billy Quarantillo in a featherweight bout last December. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)
“I’m ready, I’m like truly fired up. Like I’m excited. And so the weight cut’s simple for 55 now because I’ve got more of a – on my way to a 45 frame. I was kind of getting ready to do that again. So when I was talking to the two of them about what’s kind of on the horizon ’cause I wanted to slide in on something shorter notice, ideally the Apex because – man I got done with that and I was just like, ‘I don’t wanna tell anybody about it.’ I just wanna go to a cellar and just work this shit out. Just go battle out like two, three fights. Get my mojo, go back mainstream. And the Apex, the opponent, the timeline, everything just fit the bill, so we jumped on it.”
Miller was originally set to meet Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night 219, but the 39-year-old likely isn’t bothered by any opponent changes this far into his career. “A-10” has been on the UFC roster since 2008, and he’s currently on a three-fight winning streak where he’s finished all three of those opponents.
The main event for UFC Fight Night 219 has also seen several changes, as the card was originally meant to be headlined by bantamweights Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen. The co-main event between Erin Blanchfield and Taila Santos was later promoted to main event status, but Santos’ withdrawal resulted in former strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade stepping in to face Blanchfield.
Do you think Hernandez can find the “redemption” he’s looking for when he steps into the cage to fight Miller?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Alexander Hernandez is hoping to move past some of his recent performances when he meets Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night 219.
“The Great Ape” is currently on a two-fight losing streak after dropping both of his bouts in 2022. His most recent fight against Billy Quarantillo saw the 30-year-old move down to featherweight for the first time in the UFC, but after a strong start he suffered a TKO loss late in the second round.
Hernandez will now make a quick turnaround and return to the lightweight division against longtime UFC veteran Miller. “The Great Ape” explained at the UFC Fight Night 219 media day that he feels his recent struggles have mainly been on the mental side, and now he’s looking to address that with a short-notice opportunity.
“After the last one I was telling my manager and coach…I don’t wanna build this shit up anymore,” Hernandez said. “You know, I don’t wanna do another fourteen, fifteen-week long camp like I’ve been doing my last couple fights. I don’t wanna spend half the year thinking about this one moment. And it’s never become more evident to me than now that this is not a physical issue, it’s a mental issue. And so, mentally I’m really enthusiastic. I’m angry at myself, I wanna get redemption.”
Hernandez Was Ready For A Shorter Camp
The 30-year-old did admit that he was originally looking for another matchup at featherweight, but Hernandez also thinks this fight with Miller is a perfect way to get back on his feet after two-straight losses.
Hernandez was stopped by Billy Quarantillo in a featherweight bout last December. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)
“I’m ready, I’m like truly fired up. Like I’m excited. And so the weight cut’s simple for 55 now because I’ve got more of a – on my way to a 45 frame. I was kind of getting ready to do that again. So when I was talking to the two of them about what’s kind of on the horizon ’cause I wanted to slide in on something shorter notice, ideally the Apex because – man I got done with that and I was just like, ‘I don’t wanna tell anybody about it.’ I just wanna go to a cellar and just work this shit out. Just go battle out like two, three fights. Get my mojo, go back mainstream. And the Apex, the opponent, the timeline, everything just fit the bill, so we jumped on it.”
Miller was originally set to meet Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night 219, but the 39-year-old likely isn’t bothered by any opponent changes this far into his career. “A-10” has been on the UFC roster since 2008, and he’s currently on a three-fight winning streak where he’s finished all three of those opponents.
The main event for UFC Fight Night 219 has also seen several changes, as the card was originally meant to be headlined by bantamweights Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen. The co-main event between Erin Blanchfield and Taila Santos was later promoted to main event status, but Santos’ withdrawal resulted in former strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade stepping in to face Blanchfield.
Do you think Hernandez can find the “redemption” he’s looking for when he steps into the cage to fight Miller?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
“The Great Ape” is currently on a two-fight losing streak after dropping both of his bouts in 2022. His most recent fight against Billy Quarantillo saw the 30-year-old move down to featherweight for the first time in the UFC, but after a strong start he suffered a TKO loss late in the second round.
Hernandez will now make a quick turnaround and return to the lightweight division against longtime UFC veteran Miller. “The Great Ape” explained at the UFC Fight Night 219 media day that he feels his recent struggles have mainly been on the mental side, and now he’s looking to address that with a short-notice opportunity.
“After the last one I was telling my manager and coach…I don’t wanna build this shit up anymore,” Hernandez said. “You know, I don’t wanna do another fourteen, fifteen-week long camp like I’ve been doing my last couple fights. I don’t wanna spend half the year thinking about this one moment. And it’s never become more evident to me than now that this is not a physical issue, it’s a mental issue. And so, mentally I’m really enthusiastic. I’m angry at myself, I wanna get redemption.”
Hernandez Was Ready For A Shorter Camp
The 30-year-old did admit that he was originally looking for another matchup at featherweight, but Hernandez also thinks this fight with Miller is a perfect way to get back on his feet after two-straight losses.
Hernandez was stopped by Billy Quarantillo in a featherweight bout last December. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)
“I’m ready, I’m like truly fired up. Like I’m excited. And so the weight cut’s simple for 55 now because I’ve got more of a – on my way to a 45 frame. I was kind of getting ready to do that again. So when I was talking to the two of them about what’s kind of on the horizon ’cause I wanted to slide in on something shorter notice, ideally the Apex because – man I got done with that and I was just like, ‘I don’t wanna tell anybody about it.’ I just wanna go to a cellar and just work this shit out. Just go battle out like two, three fights. Get my mojo, go back mainstream. And the Apex, the opponent, the timeline, everything just fit the bill, so we jumped on it.”
Miller was originally set to meet Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night 219, but the 39-year-old likely isn’t bothered by any opponent changes this far into his career. “A-10” has been on the UFC roster since 2008, and he’s currently on a three-fight winning streak where he’s finished all three of those opponents.
The main event for UFC Fight Night 219 has also seen several changes, as the card was originally meant to be headlined by bantamweights Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen. The co-main event between Erin Blanchfield and Taila Santos was later promoted to main event status, but Santos’ withdrawal resulted in former strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade stepping in to face Blanchfield.
Do you think Hernandez can find the “redemption” he’s looking for when he steps into the cage to fight Miller?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Alexander Hernandez is hoping to move past some of his recent performances when he meets Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night 219.
“The Great Ape” is currently on a two-fight losing streak after dropping both of his bouts in 2022. His most recent fight against Billy Quarantillo saw the 30-year-old move down to featherweight for the first time in the UFC, but after a strong start he suffered a TKO loss late in the second round.
Hernandez will now make a quick turnaround and return to the lightweight division against longtime UFC veteran Miller. “The Great Ape” explained at the UFC Fight Night 219 media day that he feels his recent struggles have mainly been on the mental side, and now he’s looking to address that with a short-notice opportunity.
“After the last one I was telling my manager and coach…I don’t wanna build this shit up anymore,” Hernandez said. “You know, I don’t wanna do another fourteen, fifteen-week long camp like I’ve been doing my last couple fights. I don’t wanna spend half the year thinking about this one moment. And it’s never become more evident to me than now that this is not a physical issue, it’s a mental issue. And so, mentally I’m really enthusiastic. I’m angry at myself, I wanna get redemption.”
Hernandez Was Ready For A Shorter Camp
The 30-year-old did admit that he was originally looking for another matchup at featherweight, but Hernandez also thinks this fight with Miller is a perfect way to get back on his feet after two-straight losses.
“I’m ready, I’m like truly fired up. Like I’m excited. And so the weight cut’s simple for 55 now because I’ve got more of a – on my way to a 45 frame. I was kind of getting ready to do that again. So when I was talking to the two of them about what’s kind of on the horizon ’cause I wanted to slide in on something shorter notice, ideally the Apex because – man I got done with that and I was just like, ‘I don’t wanna tell anybody about it.’ I just wanna go to a cellar and just work this shit out. Just go battle out like two, three fights. Get my mojo, go back mainstream. And the Apex, the opponent, the timeline, everything just fit the bill, so we jumped on it.”
Miller was originally set to meet Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night 219, but the 39-year-old likely isn’t bothered by any opponent changes this far into his career. “A-10” has been on the UFC roster since 2008, and he’s currently on a three-fight winning streak where he’s finished all three of those opponents.
The main event for UFC Fight Night 219 has also seen several changes, as the card was originally meant to be headlined by bantamweights Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen. The co-main event between Erin Blanchfield and Taila Santos was later promoted to main event status, but Santos’ withdrawal resulted in former strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade stepping in to face Blanchfield.
Do you think Hernandez can find the “redemption” he’s looking for when he steps into the cage to fight Miller?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
