Anthony Hernandez to face Gregory Rodriguez in UFC Sacramento main event

The UFC will return to Sacramento for the first time in seven years.

The UFC heads back to California for a summer Fight Night event

HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 21: Anthony Hernandez prepares to face Sean Strickland in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Toyota Center on February 21, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) A pivotal middleweight clash is set to close out the UFC’s return to Sacramento. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a matchup between Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues will serve as the main event at UFC Sacramento, which takes place Aug. 22 and streams on Paramount+ in the U.S. Instagram account Connected MMA was first to report the booking. Hernandez looks to get back on track after having his impressive winning streak halted in his most recent bout. “Fluffy” faced the now middleweight champion Sean Strickland in the main event of February’s UFC Houston card and was stopped via strikes in the third round. Prior to that, Hernandez won eight straight, including six victories inside the distance. Rodrigues returns to the headline spot in hopes of a better outcome than his previous endeavor. “Robocop” was stopped by Jared Cannonier in the main event of UFC Vegas 102 in February 2025, but since then, Rodrigues has won three straight, including a pair of Performance of the Night earning first-round knockouts. Damon Martin contributed to this report.

Middleweights are headed to NorCal. No. 6-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Anthony Hernandez returns to action in a home game against No. 12-ranked Brazilian knockout artist Gregory Rodrigues in the main event of UFC Sacramento on Sat., Aug. 22, 2026, inside Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. NBC Sacramento was the first to report […]