Anthony Hernandez explains why he took Reinier de Ridder fight at UFC Vancouver

Anthony Hernandez has explained why he decided to take the fight against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Vancouver.

Anthony Hernandez is on a roll right now and after dominating and submitting Roman Dolidze, many felt as if he was on the verge of a UFC middleweight championship opportunity. As it turns out, he’ll have to go through one more guy in order to earn that shot – and that guy is Reinier de Ridder.

RELATED: Dana White announces 4 fights for October’s UFC Vancouver event including Reinier de Ridder vs Anthony Hernandez

As is the case with ‘Fluffy’, de Ridder has been on a great run of form recently and has wasted no time in making a name for himself since arriving in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Both RDR and Hernandez want to make a statement in their bid to face Khamzat Chimaev for the belt, and they’ll get the chance to do that when they collide at UFC Vancouver.

In a recent interview, Hernandez spoke openly about this bout and why he decided to take it.

Hernandez looks ahead to de Ridder showdown

“I was getting a massage and I got the offer and they said, ‘I think this is an offer you don’t want to pass.’ And I said, ‘OK, run it. Sign the contract.’ Now we’re here,” Hernandez told MMA Junkie. “If this is what I’ve got to do, let’s keep going. Like I said, if I’ve got to knock every mother f*cker down until I get to the top, then so be it.”

“At the end of the day I’m not matchmaker,” Hernandez said. “I’m not Dana White. I don’t make the calls. He says, ‘Be here.’ And I say, ‘I’m in.’ If I’m f*cking healthy, I’m there. I’ll f*cking never say no to anybody in this f*cking division.

“At that point it’s like, what the f*ck am I going to do? At that point if people don’t believe me, then f*ck ’em. We’re going to keep sending that sh*t until we get everyone on our side.”

“I thought DDP would actually have answers and stuff, but turns out he just got away with being a f*cking big strong guy for a long time,” Hernandez said. “Against a high-level wrestler, if you try to be strong, it just sets up traps.

“He found that out that night. There’s levels to this shit, and I think I’m on that level. Eventually when the fight comes I’ll be ready for it, but it’s one fight at a time for me. Next fight is de Ridder so I’ll just strategize against him and just f*cking keep climbing the rankings.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie