Gregory Rodrigues did not wait for the rankings committee to have its little Monday morning coffee. After beating Anthony Hernandez in the UFC Sacramento main event, Robocop grabbed the microphone and aimed straight at Dricus Du Plessis.
Rodrigues defeated Hernandez by unanimous decision on Saturday night at Golden 1 Center, taking the scorecards 48-47, 49-46, and 48-47 after five rounds of chaos. Then came the callout, and it was not subtle. Rodrigues said, “Dricus du Plessis, where are you, man? I want you. Let’s go. No. 1 contender to fight for the belt. Dricus du Plessis, I want you.”
“Dricus Du Plessis, where are you, man? I want you. Let’s go! The number-one contender to fight for the belt. Dricus Du Plessis, I want you!”
Watch Rodrigues make the call below:
One name on his mind 🗣️
@Gregory_MMA knows exactly who he wants after his big win!
[ #UFCSacramento | @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/vgXPE9NR1P
— UFC (@ufc) August 23, 2026
Rodrigues Wants The Former Champ After The Biggest Win Of His UFC Run
The callout makes sense even if it sounds like walking into a wood chipper with a smile. Rodrigues entered UFC Sacramento outside the very top shelf at middleweight, but the Hernandez fight was violent enough to earn bonus money and meaningful enough to push him toward the division’s serious names.
Hernandez had hometown heat and the kind of pace that usually turns opponents into furniture by Round 3. Rodrigues answered by smashing the lead leg, landing the cleaner power shots, and dropping Hernandez multiple times before surviving the late grind. It was not a pretty little showcase. It was a full five-round argument, and Rodrigues got the final word.
The win also gave Rodrigues a fourth straight victory since his 2025 loss to Jared Cannonier. That matters because middleweight has been moving fast since Khamzat Chimaev took over the title picture, and Du Plessis has been trying to keep himself in the front of the queue after beating Kamaru Usman over five rounds at UFC Oklahoma City.
UFC Canada posted the official result moment after the main event:
WHAT A SCRAP 👏🔥#UFCSacramento
🇧🇷 @Gregory_MMA defeats Anthony Hernandez in our main event! pic.twitter.com/3EWRXtslqX
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 23, 2026
There is no guarantee the UFC gives Rodrigues that jump immediately. Du Plessis is a former champion with wins over Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, Sean Strickland, and Usman, while Rodrigues is trying to turn one massive main event into a fast lane. Still, this is exactly the kind of name you call when you just beat the guy everyone expected to drown you.
Hernandez now has to reset after a second straight loss, while Rodrigues gets to leave Sacramento with the best kind of problem. He won the banger, stole the road crowd’s oxygen, and made sure the entire fight-week build around Hernandez ended with Robocop asking for a former champ.
