Luis Hernandez has previously been involved in moments that gained online attention, but none compare to the incident that unfolded last Sunday in Las Vegas.
Competing at Tuff-N-Uff 145, Hernandez secured a second-round submission win over Miles Hunsinger in a middleweight bout, improving his professional record to 6-0. In the closing seconds of the fight, while having a guillotine choke locked in, Hernandez looked towards Hunsinger’s corner, said something, and stuck out his tongue. He then tightened the submission, getting the tap. His subsequent celebration included a D-Generation X style crotch chop directed at Hunsinger’s corner team, which included Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis.
Both Strickland and Curtis quickly entered the cage and approached Hernandez, with Strickland throwing punches. This moment rapidly spread across social media platforms. According to Hernandez, tensions seemed to begin even before the fight, during the walkouts.
“So when I saw them walking out from their corner… I noticed they looked at me and they laughed,” Hernandez told MMA Fighting. “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.”
He continued, explaining his perspective on their reaction and his own demeanor in the cage:
“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.’… 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, known as “The Stache,” was asked specifically about sticking his tongue out towards Strickland before the situation escalated. He revealed it was prompted by a comment from the former UFC middleweight champion.
“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.”
He also spoke highly of his opponent, Miles Hunsinger:
“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.”
Following his victory celebration directed towards Strickland and Curtis’ corner, the now-viral scene unfolded with Strickland entering the cage and throwing punches. Referee Chris Tognoni intervened to separate Strickland, while Chris Curtis briefly held Hernandez. Hernandez reported that Curtis told him, “Don’t do that,” before Hernandez pushed Curtis away.
However, witnessing Strickland charging at him with such aggression was completely unexpected.
“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.”
Despite the incident, Hernandez stated he actually likes Sean Strickland and was genuinely surprised by the physical attack, especially given his background:
“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.”
He even entertained the idea of a future fight under different circumstances:
“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 aims to climb the ranks in the UFC’s welterweight division while simultaneously continuing his role as a police officer.
While being part of a viral moment involving well-known UFC fighters could certainly attract valuable attention, Hernandez made it clear he doesn’t want the incident to negatively impact Strickland or Curtis’ careers and hopes the Nevada Athletic Commission will not impose sanctions 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. I’m still here in Vegas, I was like, ‘Hey, maybe I could go train there,’ now, I don’t think so much.”
He reiterated his stance against pressing charges and his positive feelings towards Strickland and Curtis:
“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. …”
Concluding his thoughts, Hernandez emphasized mutual respect despite the altercation:
“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.”
