Step one was easy enough. After his four-fight winning streak was snapped by Jared Cannonier in September, “The Joker” returned to the win column on Saturday with a first-round heel hook submission of Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC Fight Island 2 in Abu Dhabi.
Immediately afterward, Hermansson called for the winner of a July 25 duel between former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and Darren Till, expecting a win over one of those fighters puts him in line for a future title shot.
“That’s the plan, man,” Hermansson said.