Lewis Hernandez was part of a viral moment in the past, but it doesn’t compare to what happened on Sunday in Las Vegas.
Hernandez won Miles Hunsinger in his second obedience in the middleweight match, improving to 6-0 with a Tuff-n-off 145. At the final moments of the match, Hernandez locks up the guillotine before looking at Hunsinger’s horns, saying something and sticking out his tongue. From there, Hernandez cranked submission and eventually got a tap, leading to Hernandez celebrating with Gen D X-Crotch chops at Hansinger Corner Man Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis.
Strickland and Curtis both entered the cage and charged towards Hernandez, and Strickland threw a punch. It then exploded across social media. Hernandez says things were brewing from strikes to cages.
“So when I saw them leave their corner, I don’t want to be too engrossed in the details, but I realized they looked at me and laughed,” Hernandez told MMA Fighting. “They said something, I think he said something to one of the other horned guys – I think it’s like it’s three of them – they said something and they started laughing at me. And I, I’m not kidding. I think I’m a real deal.
“So they probably (thought), ‘Oh, this guy is a cop,’ they looked at me and I saw them laughing. And I remember everything now.
“I’m at work, I’m an expert in law enforcement and I have to do everything with books. You can have fun in the cage. It’s flipping the switch, having fun and never thought things had escalated.
Hernandez was asked why he was first to stick his tongue out at Strickland and talking in the direction of a former UFC middleweight champion before the incident went overboard. “The Stache” says it stems from comments made at the moment.
“I think you heard, ‘Oh, he’s tired and his arm will be blown away.’ “No, not,” (and then) blew the kiss away and put my tongue in it,” Hernandez said. “I was very prepared. A lot of people look at me and they’re confused (I don’t know) and I don’t think I know what I can do. I think it’s a real deal.
“I heard them say little things and I was focused. Miles is the hell of the other guy, man. I really respect him. Man. The ultimate fighter House, 7-1, and he briefly notified of this fight as I had problems gaining enemies. I was sure he was doing a lot in the cage so I didn’t think he was going to take it personally like that. ”
After improving his record to 6-0 and celebrating his victory in the direction of Strickland and Curtis, a viral moment occurred when Strickland stormed the cage and threw punches. Judge Chris Tognoni pulled away from Strickland and Curtis kept his collar tie. Hernandez says Curtis told him “Don’t do that.”
However, seeing Strickland heading down his path, it was not on Hernandez’s bingo card that was angry.
“‘What’s going on here? Is this a reality TV show?” explained Hernandez. “I felt like I was mostly there, you know how they have Russians (version) tuf? How do you know in Russian? tuf Do people just start fighting? “What’s going on here?” I was in the mood, damn.
“I actually like Sean Strickland. I didn’t expect it to escalate to that level at all because I hope he knows I’m a professional fighter, but I’m a cop too. You’re rocking someone. It’s not clear what I wasn’t expecting. My face) might be one of Miles, but I couldn’t do it if this was approved.
“If me and Strickland want to fight for money, I’ll do it for money. I didn’t expect an unlicensed fight, but if this is a future matchup, I’ll definitely do it 100%.”
Hernandez is not just a profighter, he is in a special tactical response unit at the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. The goal of UP and Comer, at 28, is to become a successful fighter at the UFC welterweight division, while simultaneously maintaining his role as a police officer.
It certainly will be part of a highly viewed moment involving one of the most known UFC fighters will pay the type of attention the UFC is looking for, but Hernandez doesn’t want it to be sacrifices in his fighting career of Strickland and Curtis.
“I don’t want these people to have anything happening, so I think things escalated to a point they shouldn’t have,” Hernandez said. “These guys are professional fighters just like me. I have a career, I have a career. It’s crushing at my end. No one in that corner has a bias. It’s a great team. Xtreme Couture is a great team.
“But yeah, I really have nothing towards them. I hope the committee doesn’t do that… as they asked me, “Hey, are you going to push the fee?” I say, “What?” I actually like them, so I hope they’re watching this.
“We’re all adults here and I have nothing to do with them. I’ll say this again, because at the end of the day, we’re all experts and this is entertainment.”