It took less than two minutes for Alexander Hernandez to get his groove back, but if he needed any more proof, it came in the form of a phone call.
“My grandparents are like my parents,” he said. “They called me afterwards and they're Mexican as can be, so they're like, 'Mijo, you finally beat those demons. You did it.'”
The demons were vanquished in Las Vegas last Halloween, as Hernandez earned his fourth UFC win by knocking out Chris Gruetzemacher in the first round. It wasn’t a long losing streak to be snapped, a devastating injury to recover from, or any combination of factors that could force a fighter to reevaluate everything in his professional life, but after a loss to Drew Dober last May, Hernandez needed a change, and he got it as he made the move from Texas to Colorado to train with the Factory X squad led by Marc Montoya.