Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Hernandez added to UFC 249

An exciting lightweight bout between top-15 ranked Islam Makhachev and Alexander Hernandez is the latest addition to UFC 249.

MMAjunkie.com reported that Makhachev vs. Hernandez has been verbally agreed to for UFC 249, which takes place on April 18 at Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York. The main event sees UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov take on Tony Ferguson.

Makhachev (18-1) is 7-1 in the UFC and is currently riding a six-fight win streak. He is the No. 14 ranked lightweight on the UFC roster. There have been plenty of rumors for months now that Makhachev would be booked for this card and names like Kevin Lee and Gregor Gillespie were floated around, but the opponent was never finalized.

Finally, Makhachev gets his opponent and he’s a ranked fighter in Hernandez. Many ranked fighters so far have been hesitant to fight Makhachev as he presents plenty of danger yet a low ranking at 155lbs, but Hernandez was not afraid of the challenge and accepted the UFC’s offer for the bout.

Hernandez (11-2) is 3-1 in the UFC and the No. 15 ranked lightweight overall. He is coming off of a controversial decision win over Franciso Trinaldo to bounce back from his first and only career defeat to Donald Cerrone. He has also been looking to take on ranked opponents and finally one became available in the form of Makhachev. Despite an average record so far in the UFC, Hernandez is a very confident young fighter and has plenty of potential at 155lbs.

The winner of this fight should find themselves in line for potentially a top-10 opponent in the UFC lightweight division their next time out. Perhaps Makhachev will finally get the fight with Lee that he so badly wants while Hernandez could potentially earn the rematch with Cerrone that he wants with a win here too.

Who are you picking to win the fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Hernandez?