Luis Hernandez has been involved in viral moments before, but none quite compare to the events that unfolded on Sunday in Las Vegas.
Competing at Tuff-N-Uff 145, Hernandez improved his professional record to 6-0 with a second-round submission victory over Miles Hunsinger in their middleweight bout. In the final seconds of the fight, with a guillotine choke secured, Hernandez looked towards Hunsinger’s corner, appeared to say something, and stuck out his tongue. He then tightened the submission to get the tap. Following the win, Hernandez celebrated by performing the D-Generation X crotch chop gesture in the direction of Hunsinger’s corner members, Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis.
Both Strickland and Curtis immediately entered the cage and moved rapidly towards Hernandez, with Strickland seen throwing punches. The entire incident quickly went viral across social media platforms. Hernandez stated that he felt tensions were already brewing from the moment the corners walked out.
“So when I saw them walking out from their corner,” Hernandez told MMA Fighting, “I noticed they looked at me and they laughed. They said something, I think he said something to one of the other corner men — I know it’s like three of them — they said something and they started laughing at me. And I was like, man, I’m not a joke. I believe I am the real deal. I’ve got 11 fights, six pro fight finishes now and five finishes in amateur.”
Hernandez felt they might have been underestimating him, possibly due to his other career. “So they [were] probably [thinking], ‘Oh yeah, this guy’s a cop,’ and they looked at me and I saw them laughing and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, you’re going to laugh at me? I’m going to get the last laugh.’ And some things were said… I’m trying to remember everything now, but I was having a great time. I just wanted to have fun. When the whole moment happened itself, you see me laughing. I want to show that there’s two sides: I have my career, and then inside the cage, I’m able to have fun. This is literally fun for me. I enjoy it. This is my passion.”
He contrasted his fight persona with his law enforcement role. “At work, I’m a professional being in law enforcement, and I have to do everything by the book. In the cage, I can have fun. It’s like I get to flip the switch, enjoy myself, and I honestly think things escalated. I didn’t expect that at all. You see me, I’m laughing. I didn’t expect what happened to happen. I was like, ‘OK, I guess this is happening.’”
When asked about sticking his tongue out at Strickland before the situation escalated, “The Stache” indicated it was a response to something Strickland said in that moment.
“I believe I heard, ‘Oh, he’s tired, his arms are going to blow out,’” Hernandez recalled. “And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not,’ [then] blow the kiss and I did the tongue. I was just so ready.” He believes many people are unsure what he is capable of. “I think a lot of people see me and they’re confused and [don’t know] what I’m capable of. I believe I’m the real deal, and I was like able to show it.”
Hernandez acknowledged hearing other comments but remained focused on his opponent. “I heard them saying little things, and I was focused. Miles is a hell of an opponent, man. I truly respect him. The guy was in The Ultimate Fighter house, 7-1, and he took this fight on short notice because I’ve been having issues getting opponents, and this was a great experience.” Regarding the viral moment, he added, “I honestly had… a great time with the sticking the tongue out. I didn’t think he was going to take it that personal, because I’m pretty sure he does a lot of talking in the cage.”
After securing the win and celebrating towards Strickland and Curtis, the confrontation occurred with Strickland entering the cage and throwing punches. Referee Chris Tognoni intervened to separate Strickland, while Chris Curtis maintained a collar-tie on Hernandez. Hernandez stated that Curtis told him, “Don’t do that,” before Hernandez pushed Curtis away.
However, seeing Strickland charge at him so angrily was completely unexpected for Hernandez.
“I was like, ‘What’s going on here? Is this a reality TV show?,’” Hernandez recounted. “I felt like I was almost in, you know how they have the Russian [version of] TUF? You know how on the Russian TUF people just start fighting? I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ I was like, damn.”
Hernandez revealed he actually likes Sean Strickland and was surprised by the intensity of the reaction. “I wasn’t expecting it to escalate to that level at all, because I’m like, man, I hope he knows I’m a professional fighter, but I’m a cop, too. You’re swinging on somebody for I don’t know what reason. It was something I wasn’t expecting at all.” He also commented on the punches: “There’s some angles [of the punches] and I said it [in the post-fight interview], he hit me and I’m still standing. I’m still smiling, still look good. These [marks on my face] are actually from Miles. Maybe one of these might have been from Strickland, but I wasn’t expecting that at all.” He clarified his stance on a potential fight: “If this was a sanctioned bout, we can do it. I’ll do it for money. If me and Strickland want to fight for money, I’ll do it for money. I wasn’t expecting an unsanctioned fight, but if this would be a matchup in the future, most definitely I’ll do it, 100 percent.”
Beyond his fighting career, Hernandez is a member of a special tactical response unit within the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Department. The 28-year-old prospect’s goal is to become a successful fighter in the UFC’s welterweight division while simultaneously maintaining his role as a police officer.
While being part of a highly-viewed incident involving a prominent UFC fighter brings significant attention, Hernandez stressed that he does not want it to negatively impact Strickland or Curtis`s careers and hopes the Nevada Athletic Commission will not impose any punishment on either fighter.
“I think things escalated to a point where they shouldn’t have because I don’t want anything to happen to these guys,” Hernandez said. “These guys are professional fighters just like I am. I have a career, they have their careers, and I would say [it’s] squashed on my end. I have no bias against anybody from that corner, that team. That’s a great team. Xtreme Couture is a great team.” He even mentioned that he had considered training at Xtreme Couture, which now seems less likely.
“But yeah, I really have nothing towards them, and hope the commission does not… like they even asked me, ‘Hey, you’re gonna press charges?’ I’m like, ‘What? No.’ I would never want anything to happen to these guys because I actually like them, and I hope they watch this. I have nothing against Sean, nothing against Chris, nothing against Xtreme Couture. I like those guys.”
“I would say we’re all adults here, and I have nothing against them,” he concluded, reiterating his hope for the outcome, “and I will say this again: I hope the commission does not take this out on them at all because, at the end of the day, we’re all professionals and this is entertainment.”
