Luis Hernandez just made a $100,000 UFC payday look almost secondary. The undefeated fighter made his UFC debut on just two days’ notice, needed only 57 seconds to submit Sedriques Dumas, and walked away from UFC Vegas 121 with a Performance of the Night bonus. Pretty wild start to life in the UFC, right? Well, somehow, fighting still isn’t Hernandez’s biggest paycheck.

The 9-0 prospect has spent the last seven years working as a police officer, following in the footsteps of his father. And despite finally breaking into the UFC, ‘The Stache’ has no plans to ditch law enforcement anytime soon. For the 30-year-old, the two careers can happily coexist. That became pretty clear when Ariel Helwani asked him during a recent interview which job currently makes him more money.

“Law enforcement,” he replied. “In the regional scene, there’s no money. I lose money. I’m losing money from my career.

“And, you know, I was trying to get a house with my wife, and I’m blessed now to have a house.”

Luis Hernandez isn’t just clocking in as a regular cop, either. He’s a deputy sheriff with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and is also part of the agency’s Priority Response Team. And when you look at the money involved, Hernandez’s answer starts making a lot more sense.

For UFC newcomers, the starting pay can be pretty modest. Entry-level contracts can reportedly pay around $12,000 to show and another $12,000 to win, meaning a successful debut could bring in roughly $24,000 before bonuses and deductions. You can also earn a $100,000 bonus just like the 30-year-old did in his last fight.

Meanwhile, a full-time Miami-Dade deputy sheriff can reportedly make around $133,000 a year when base salary, overtime and hazard incentives are factored in. No wonder why competition such as MVP MMA are earning praise for paying their fighters enough to actually quit their days jobs and focus on MMA full time.

And ‘The Stache’ is hardly the first UFC fighter to keep a second career going. Former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic famously continued working as a firefighter and paramedic while building one of the most successful careers in the Octagon.

And just like Miocic, he has also managed to make the whole MMA-and-law-enforcement thing work. According to the 30-year-old, his department has been incredibly supportive of his fighting career, even giving him time during his shifts to train.

“I love doing both. I am very blessed. We get to actually train on duty. We get an hour every day to train,” Hernandez explained.

When he needs more time to prepare for a fight, the 30-year-old uses his paid time off and vacation days. He also works extra hours to build up time that he can use later during fight camp.

So, despite making his UFC debut in spectacular fashion, the undefeated fighter isn’t thinking about walking away from the badge anytime soon.

He revealed that he even had a conversation with his sheriff about potentially leaving the job.

“I have a great sheriff,” he added. “You know, I spoke with her and the conversation, she’s like, ‘Hey, are you thinking about leaving?’ And I said, ‘No, I never want to leave. And I want to do both.’”

That kind of support could become even more important now that Luis Hernandez has finally made it to the UFC. The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate clearly isn’t treating his UFC debut like a one-and-done moment.

‘The Stache’ wants to stay busy, build his name and, eventually, get to a point where fighting becomes the bigger paycheck. For now, though, Hernandez is playing the long game, and judging by the way his UFC debut went, he’s already got people paying attention. And his plan from here? It’s pretty ambitious.

Luis Hernandez wants to pull off his own ‘Kevin Holland’

Luis Hernandez clearly isn’t interested in taking his foot off the gas after that wild UFC debut. After competing at middleweight on Dana White’s Contender Series, he jumped up to light heavyweight on just two days’ notice for his UFC debut.

Now, he’s eyeing an even crazier challenge: fighting across multiple weight classes and potentially making UFC history along the way. And the 30-year-old already has a pretty specific record in mind.

“I talked to the bosses. I can’t tell you a date yet, but I’m trying to make history,” Hernandez said. “I looked online. I don’t know if you guys could look it up as well. I’ve never seen somebody do three fights in three months in three different weight classes.

“So listen, Kevin Holland was active, and now you’ve got Luis Hernandez.”

The 30-year-old isn’t exactly new to bouncing between weight classes, either. During his regional run, ‘The Stache’ has fought at both welterweight and middleweight, while also taking a few fights at catchweights. Now, he wants to take that even further inside the UFC.

His goal? Fight at 170 and 185 pounds while attempting to pull off something even BJ Penn couldn’t manage in the same three-month window.

“Honestly, I want to do 170 and 185,” Luis Hernandez said. “I can’t tell you what the bosses said, but hopefully we’ll get some news soon. I want to be the first guy … I think the only other guy was BJ Penn, but it wasn’t in three months.”

For Hernandez, the plan is pretty clear: keep the badge, keep fighting and see how far this nine-fight unbeaten run can take him.

Right now, law enforcement is still paying the bills. But if Luis Hernandez can stay active, rack up wins and turn himself into a UFC regular, that $100,000 bonus might eventually look less like a massive payday and more like the first big check of what could become a very different MMA career.

And judging by the ambition he’s already showing, ‘The Stache’ clearly isn’t planning to slow down anytime soon.