Strickland’s Houston Finish Headlined a Night
Sean Strickland stopped Anthony Hernandez at 2:23 of round three in the UFC Houston main event on February 21, 2026. Toyota Center also hosted three first-round main-card finishes and several competitive decisions across a fourteen-fight program.
The matchup and early action
Strickland used his jab before a knee to the body hurt Hernandez in the third. Follow-up punches secured the technical knockout and ended Hernandez’s eight-fight UFC winning streak.
Uroš Medić knocked out Geoff Neal with a left hook at 1:19 of round one. Melquizael Costa stopped Dan Ige at 4:56 of the first after a spinning back kick and follow-up punches.
The decisive developments
Serghei Spivac defeated Ante Delija unanimously, earning scores of 30–27, 29–28 and 29–28. Jacobe Smith knocked out Josiah Harrell at 3:01 of the opening round after a grappling scramble created a dominant striking position.
Michel Pereira edged Zachary Reese by split decision. Earlier, Joselyne Edwards submitted Nora Cornolle with a rear-naked choke at 2:24 of round two.
What the result meant
Carlos Leal, Alibi Idiris and Alden Coria each won unanimously. Punahele Soriano, Jordan Leavitt and Carli Judice also secured unanimous verdicts, while Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani defeated Phil Rowe by split decision.
Those results combined extended scoring contests with decisive stoppages. Strickland supplied the final statement, returning to the middleweight contender conversation through a finish rather than leaving another major assignment to the judges.
