Alexander Xavier Hernandez (born October 1, 1992) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

currently competing in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Hernandez began wrestling at the age of 13 and started training in other martial arts as he progressed through education. After graduating from Reagan High School, Alexander entered college from where he graduated with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Business Finance from the

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the largest university in San Antonio and the eighth-largest by ...

. Hernandez worked as a mortgage loan officer as he was recovering from a MCL and meniscus injury.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Hernandez compiled an amateur MMA record of 3–0 before making his professional debut in the spring of 2012. He competed for various regional promotions such as Legacy Fighting Alliance and Resurrection Fighting Alliance and by 2018, he had amassed a 8–1 MMA record before signing with the UFC in early 2018.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Hernandez made his promotional debut as a short notice replacement filling in for

Bobby Green Bobby Green (born September 9, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, Green is the former King ...

against

Beneil Dariush Beneil Khobier Dariush (born May 6, 1989) is an Assyrian-American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 in the UFC lightw ...

on March 3, 2018, at

UFC 222 ''UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 3, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background A ...

. Hernandez won the fight via knockout in the fight's opening minute. He was awarded a $50,000 bonus for ''Performance of the Night''. Hernandez next faced

Olivier Aubin-Mercier Olivier Aubin-Mercier (; born February 23, 1989) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Professional Fighters League. He formerly competed for the UFC until October 2019 when he became a free agent. A pr ...

on July 28, 2018, at

UFC on Fox 30 ''UFC on Fox: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 30'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 28, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Background Th ...

. Hernandez won the fight by pushing a high-pace, scoring takedowns, strikes and successful top game to take a unanimous decision. Hernandez was expected to face

Francisco Trinaldo Francisco Trinaldo Soares da Rocha (; born August 24, 1978) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2006, he has also competed for Jungle Fight in h ...

on January 26, 2019, at

UFC 233 ''UFC 233'' was a planned mixed martial arts event that was rescheduled to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 26, 2019 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The promotion initially announced on December 12, 2018 that t ...

. However, Hernandez was pulled from that fight in favor of a bout with former

UFC Lightweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challenger

Donald Cerrone Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ultimat ...

a week earlier at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. For their performance, both participants were awarded ''Fight of the Night''. Hernandez faced

on July 20, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN 4 UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 20, 2019 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event ma ...

, which took place in Hernandez's home state of Texas. He won the fight via unanimous decision. The fight was the subject of much debate, with 11 of 13 media outlets scoring the bout in favor of Trinaldo. Hernández was expected to face

Islam Makhachev Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (russian: Исла́м Рамаза́нович Маха́чев; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former Sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in ...

on April 18, 2020, at

UFC 249 ''UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was originally planned to ...

. However, Russia restricted air travel due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Makhachev was removed from the event and he was replaced by Omar Morales. However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and rescheduled to May 13, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira facing

Drew Dober Andrew Martin Dober (born October 19, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also formerly competed for Bella ...

instead. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Hernández faced

Chris Gruetzemacher Christopher William Gruetzemacher (born June 16, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he has also competed for ...

on October 31, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 181 ''UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 181'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 39'' and ''UFC Vegas 12'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 31, 2020 at the UFC Ap ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him '' Performance Fight of the Night'' award. Hernández faced

Thiago Moisés Thiago Henrique Moisés (born 23 March 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has been a professional MMA competitor since 2012. Previously, he compet ...

on February 27, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 186 ''UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 186'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 44'' and ''UFC Vegas 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 27, 2021, at the ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Hernández was scheduled to face Leonardo Santos on October 2, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 193 ''UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 193'', ''UFC Vegas 38'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 51'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 2, 2021 at the UFC ...

. However, Santos was forced to pull from the event, citing calf injury and he was replaced by Mike Breeden. At the weigh-ins, Mike Breeden weighed in at 158.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Breeden was fined 20% which went to Hernandez. Hernandez won the fight via knockout in round one. Hernández faced

Renato Moicano Renato Alves Carneiro better known as Renato Moicano (born May 21, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Moicano made a ...

on February 12, 2022, at

UFC 271 ''UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 12, 2022 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Middleweight Champio ...

. He lost the bout via rear-naked choke in the second round. Hernandez faced

Billy Quarantillo Billy Quarantillo (born December 8, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion. Mixed martial arts ...

on December 10, 2022 at

UFC 282 ''UFC 282: Błachowicz vs. Ankalaev'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place on December 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Hernandez is scheduled to face Jim Miller on February 18, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 219 ''UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 219'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 77'', and ''UFC Vegas 69'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 18, 2023, at ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(Two time) ** Fight of the Night (One time) vs.

*Hero Fighting Championship ** Hero FC Lightweight Champion (One time) *MMADNA.nl **2018 UFC Debut of the Year.

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

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Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

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Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Derrick Adkins , TKO (punches) , LFA 27 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma Cit ...

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El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

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Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

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Jamall Emmers Jamall Leantwean Emmers (born July 24, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Emmers transitioned to MMA from a high school and college wr ...

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Pharr, Texas Pharr is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 70,400, and in 2019, the estimated population was 79,112. Pharr is connected by bridge to the Mexican city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Pharr is p ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Alexander 1992 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Missouri Sportspeople from St. Louis Sportspeople from New Braunfels, Texas University of Texas at San Antonio alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu