A reunion has now been confirmed. It took the UFC seven long years, but they are finally returning to NorCal—Sacramento, to be more precise. The last time Dana White-led MMA promotion visited the City of Trees was all the way back in July 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 13, when Germaine de Randamie defeated Aspen Ladd via first-round knockout in the main event. Why it took so long for the UFC to return to Sacramento is not known, but one thing is certain: this time around, the return isn’t a dull one either.

According to Sean Cunningham of KCRA News, a Sacramento-based news outlet, the event is scheduled for August 22 at the Golden 1 Center. The card will be headlined by Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez and Brazilian middleweight Gregory ‘Robocop’ Rodrigues.

Having Hernandez headline the event is a smart move by the UFC to attract the local fanbase. The 32-year-old hails from Dunnigan, California, a small farming community in Yolo County located roughly 35 to 40 miles northwest of downtown Sacramento. This makes him a natural hometown draw for the event a couple of months from now.

And the support from his home crowd would be crucial for Hernandez, who will appear in his third main event bout in the promotion. The 32-year-old is ranked No. 7 in the middleweight division (No.6 in media rankings) and would be looking to rebound from his upset loss to Sean Strickland in February. That loss, unfortunately for him, snapped his eight-fight winning streak and pushed him down the rankings.

After his loss in February, Hernandez lamented the setback, describing it as “Players f–k up.” He wasn’t too happy about losing his eight-fight winning streak either, claiming the fight was going his way until ‘Tarzan’ landed a “a f–king body shot.” However, he refused to be bogged down by a loss, noting “s–t happens” and it’s “part of the game.”

Although he was proud of the fact that it “took six years” for someone to beat him, he promised, “I’ll be back.” A win here could bring him back into the top five and help him get to a title shoot sooner. However, a potential win in his comeback won’t come easily.

Gregory Rodrigues will be dangerous for Anthony Hernandez

34-year-old Gregory Rodrigues is currently ranked No. 9 in the middleweight division. And a win against Hernandez, who could have been the No. 1 contender had he not had to pull out of the UFC Vancouver main event last year due to an injury, could propel the Brazilian to the top of the division and a title opportunity down the line.

Rodrigues enters the bout riding a three-fight win streak, with two of those victories coming by first-round knockout against Jack Hermansson and Brunno Ferreira. The Brazilian will look to carry that momentum into his clash with Hernandez, marking his second UFC main event since suffering a fourth-round knockout loss to Jared Cannonier in February 2025.

While the rest of the card is yet to be confirmed, Tapology, the record-keeping site, claims Jackson McVey will face Wes Schultz and Carli Judice will face Jeisla Chaves on the undercard. The rest of the card is expected to be revealed as fight night approaches. For now, fans will be watching closely what lies ahead for Hernandez.