Rivalries: Alexander Hernandez

Inconsistency more than anything else has marked Alexander Hernandez’s tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.

The Factory X standout will look to keep his head above water when he toes the line against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 winner Kurt Holobaugh in a featured UFC Fight Night 254 attraction on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Hernandez has compiled a 7-7 record across his 14 assignments inside the Octagon. He last competed on Oct. 5, when he eked out a three-round split decision over Austin Hubbard at UFC 307.

As Hernandez moves ever closer to his upcoming battle with Holobaugh at 155 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Beneil Dariush

Hernandez took the proverbial bull by the horns in his Octagon debut when he needed less than a minute to punch out Beneil Dariush as part of the UFC 222 undercard on March 3, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The heavily favored Dariush bowed out 42 seconds into Round 1. Operating in the shadows of the Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino-Yana Kunitskaya headliner, Hernandez was the aggressor from the start. Dariush struggled to respond and landed a few low kicks, only to leave himself open. He paid a steep price. Hernandez triggered an exchange in the center of the cage and sent a hellacious left cross crashing into the Rafael Cordeiro protégé’s face. An unconscious Dariush hit the deck, at which point he was met with a few rapid-fire punches before referee Jason Herzog could arrive and cordon off the scene.

Donald Cerrone

“Cowboy” returned to the lightweight division with a vengeance and cut down Hernandez with a head kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 143 prelim on Jan. 19, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The end came 3:43 into Round 2. Experience paid enormous dividends for Cerrone, who weathered an early rush from the divisional upstart. He pieced together three-, four- and five-strike combinations, attacked the legs, body and head and pushed Hernandez backward. He was effective at range and in close quarters. In the second round, Cerrone fired a head kick through the Texan’s defenses. The impact stunned and then felled Hernandez, leaving him vulnerable to subsequent punches. A series of right hands from Cerrone prompted referee Todd Anderson to intervene. It was the first loss for Hernandez in well over five years.

Billy Quarantillo

The former King of the Cage champion took care of Hernandez with knees and punches in the second round of their UFC 282 featherweight prelim on Dec. 10, 2022 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In his first appearance in more than a year, Quarantillo brought it to a close 4:30 into Round 2. Hernandez enjoyed a near-flawless first round, where he stayed busy with punches, recorded multiple takedowns, made a pass at an arm-triangle and hacked open a cut on his opponent’s forehead with a downward elbow strike. However, he ran out of steam in the middle stanza. There, Quarantillo unleashed multi-punch volleys from a variety of angles and overwhelmed the Marc Montoya disciple with brutal output. A few knees to the body pinned Hernandez to the fence, and a final flurry of punches sealed the deal.

Jim Miller

Hernandez outstruck the venerable ex-Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder to a unanimous decision in their UFC Fight Night 219 lightweight appetizer on Feb. 18, 2023 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Hernandez blended together his offensive weapons beautifully, as he tore into the Sparta, New Jersey, native with punishing kicks, elbows and punches. The damage to Miller’s face was considerable and left little doubt as to the bout’s direction. However, the longtime veteran managed to answer back on more than one occasion. He staggered Hernandez with a head kick in the first round and nearly staged an unlikely rally in the waning moments of the third. There, Miller tripped his counterpart to the canvas, progressed to the back and made a pass at a rear-naked choke. Hernandez stayed calm under duress, executed his escape and scored with ground-and-pound to quell the threat.