Last week, the 25-year-old bantamweight was preparing to headline a Legacy Fighting Alliance show at the end of the month against Anthony Birchak, a veteran of four UFC fights. A win there would likely have propelled Hernandez to a spot in the Octagon.
Instead, he got a call last Saturday telling him that he’d be needed to fill in for Sean O’Malley against Marlon Vera in Las Vegas at UFC 239, one of the biggest MMA cards of the year. Hernandez was solely focused on Birchak and wasn’t even aware that the O’Malley and Vera were booked to fight or that Vera was suddenly in need of a new opponent after O’Malley received a provisional suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission while they investigate his recent drug test results.