Former Welterweight Contender Belal Muhammad Predicts Strickland vs. Hernandez at UFC Houston Main Event

The main event of Saturday's UFC Houston fight card features a compelling middleweight clash between former champion Sean Strickland (29-7) and the rapidly ascending contender Anthony 'Fluffy' Hernandez (14-2, 1 NC).

Strickland, ranked No. 3 in the division, enters this bout following a decisive loss to former champion Dricus du Plessis. Hernandez, on the other hand, brings an impressive eight-fight winning streak to the octagon inside the Toyota Center.

This pivotal matchup could potentially lead to a title shot opportunity. Former welterweight title contender Belal Muhammad offered his breakdown and prediction for the fight on his YouTube channel.

"I'm going to try to be as unbiased as possible because I hate Strickland and I think he sucks," Muhammad declared. "I'll break it down. I'll give my keys for Strickland. You know what he's going to come out and do. He's going to talk, say stupid stuff through fight week. But, he's going to throw out his jab. He's going to throw out that teep. I'm going to say over 150 teep kicks for Strickland."

"I will say, the only good thing about the teep kick is Fluffy has shown that he has a weakness to the body. He's gotten hurt to the body a couple of times. Kevin Holland finished him with a body shot, and I think [Michel] Pereira rocked him with a body shot too. That tells me something. That's like a weakness in his game," Muhammad continued.

"For Strickland, you've got to keep him at that jab length. You've got to keep him at that teep length. You can't let him get into a rhythm of shooting, taking you down, and constantly making you work because that's what Fluffy is best at."

Before detailing Hernandez's path to victory, Muhammad cautioned Strickland against advancing too aggressively, advised him not to "get wild with his punches," and emphasized the importance of controlling the distance.

"For Hernandez, I think you've got to shoot early. You've got to attack early. You've got to get him working early. Strickland has been in a lot of five-round fights and he knows how to keep a pace where he gets the guy on his rhythm, following him, trying to figure out his defensive style," Muhammad explained.

"But if you're coming forward, shooting in on his body, not shooting in on the legs, making him work, frustrating him, not giving him any chance to hit you with the jab, hit you with the teep kick. You've got to attack him. You've got to move forward. You've got to get him on the fence right away."

Ultimately, Muhammad picked Hernandez to defeat Strickland, acknowledging that his prediction might have been influenced by personal feelings.

"I'm picking Fluffy. I think that pace is going to be too hard to keep up with. I just want to see him break Strickland," he concluded.