It is seven years since their paths crossed for the first time on the regional scene.
In UFC Seattle this weekend, two top 15 middle weights will meet again after they participated against each other before they both arrived in the UFC.
Brendan Allen will try to bounce back into the win column after his loss against Nassourdine Imavov last September in Paris, who ended his seven-fighter line who earned him a place in the top 10.
He meets Anthony Hernandez who only recently received a song next to his name after stopping Michel Pereira in his first main event Spotlight last time to extend his winning series to six.
Although both men find their way to the top of the middleweight division, their first meeting with each other in 2018 was under very different circumstances.
Anthony Hernandez, convincing Brendan Allen over five rounds for the LFA Middleweight Title
At LFA 32 in January 2018, Brendan Allen looked to win the empty middleweight title in his second shot in the belt after a shortage against Eryk Anders in the past.
His opponent would be an LFA debutant, the 5-0 Anthony Hernandez who at the time had exactly half the amount of pro attacks as his opponent.
Both men trusted a major grip approach and that led to an incredibly narrow opening round with commentator and UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich scored a 10-10 on his unofficial map.
After trying a few entries in the first, Hernandez changed somewhat his approach to the rest of the fight and as a result he was able to clock a lot of top control time where he all smothered with his characteristic ruthless cardio.
All here and there had a few moments, but for the most part the remaining four rounds of the fight were largely the same with Hernandez who dictated the action.
Hernandez was named the new LFA Middleweight Champion after five debilitating rounds with two jury members who gave him four rounds and one scored all five in his favor.
From here, 'Fluffy' Hernandez would have the opportunity to fight in the Contender Series of Dana White, where he would make his debut for a little more than a year in the Octagon by beating all.
A few long breaks in his run with the promotion means that he has currently fought nine times under the UFC banner, with 7-2 with six Finishes.
All, on the other hand, stayed a little longer in LFA, where he won the middleweight title before he also passed the Contender Series a year later than Hernandez.
'All In' has since been one of the most active hunters in the division and has collected 15 UFC periods under his belt with a record of 12-3 and only lost to Imavov, Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis.
Much has changed for Anthony Hernandez and Brendan Allen in the room of seven years
Brendan Allen might have had to wait a little longer to get to the UFC, but he certainly made up for that time with how active he has been.
Although Anthony Hernandez may be ranked lower than he, 'Fluffy' seems to have really established himself in a groove during this current winning series.
His constant pace and pressure have been seen against dangerous strikers such as Pereira and Roman Kopylov, but now we will see if he still has the wrestling benefit from his former enemy.
One thing you can be sure of is that all will have worked extensively on what went wrong in its loss for Hernandez to ensure that history does not repeat itself in the Climate Pledge Arena on 22 February.
Comments