Fighter attacked by Sean Strickland reacts to viral moment: ‘I didn’t think he was going to take it that personal’

Luis Hernandez has been part of a viral moment in the past, but it doesn’t compare to what happened on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Hernandez improved to 6-0 at Tuff-N-Uff 145 with a second-round submission victory over Miles Hunsinger in a middleweight bout. In the final moments of the bout, Hernandez has a guillotine locked up, then looks at Hunsinger’s corner, says something and sticks out his tongue. From there, Hernandez cranks on the submission and eventually gets the tap, which led to Hernandez celebrating with the D-Generation X crotch chop at Hunsinger cornermen Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis.

Both Strickland and Curtis entered the cage and charged towards Hernandez, with Strickland throwing punches. The moment has since exploded all over social media. Hernandez says things were brewing from the walkouts to the cage.

“So when I saw them walking out from their corner, I don’t want to go too crazy on details, but I noticed they looked at me and they laughed,” Hernandez told MMA Fighting. “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.

“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.

“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.’”

Hernandez was asked why he first stuck his tongue out at Strickland and talking in the former UFC middleweight champion’s direction before the incident went overboard. “The Stache” says it stemmed from a comment Strickland made in that moment.

“I believe I heard, ‘Oh, he’s tired, his arms are going to blow out,’ and I’m like, ‘No, I’m not,’ [then] blow the kiss and I did the tongue,” Hernandez said. “I was just so ready. 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.

“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, and I honestly had, like I said, 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 improving his record to 6-0 and celebrating the victory in Strickland and Curtis’ direction, the viral moment occurred with Strickland storming the cage and throwing punches. Referee Chris Tognoni pulled Strickland away, while Curtis maintained a collar-tie. Hernandez says Curtis told him, ‘Don’t do that’ before pushing Curtis away.

But seeing Strickland heading his way so angrily was not on Hernandez’s bingo card.

“I was like, ‘What’s going on here? Is this a reality TV show?,’” Hernandez explained. “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.

“I actually like Sean Strickland. 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. … 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. 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.”

Hernandez is not just a pro fighter, he’s in a special tactical response unit for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Department. It’s the goal of the 28-year-old up and comer to become a successful fighter in the UFC’s welterweight division, and maintain his role as a police officer at the same time.

While being part of a highly-viewed moment involving one of the most-known UFC fighters will certainly gain the type of attention the UFC looks for, Hernandez doesn’t want that to come at the expense at Strickland and Curtis’ fighting careers, and hopes the Nevada Athletic Commission won’t punish 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. I’m still here in Vegas, I was like, ‘Hey, maybe I could go train there,’ now, I don’t think so much.

“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, 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.”