The Toyota Center had an eventful fight night with some outstanding finishes, close decisions and scrappy battles in the Octagon.
For some of the Texan fans, the preliminary card was disappointing in terms of stoppage victories, as only one occurred out of eight bouts.
Two fighters have placed themselves in the UFC rankings after pulling off statement wins to solidify a spot in the top 15 of their weight division.
Here are all the results from UFC Houston, from the main event to the prelims.
Sean Strickland bounces back from title loss
A perfect middleweight matchup had to be featured as the headliner of this event, with a former champion hoping to redeem himself, while an emerging contender was potentially one triumph away from title contention.
Strickland had not fought in a year after losing his title rematch to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312, aiming to stay in the top three of the 185-pound division.
Anthony Hernandez was on an eight-fight win streak, hungry for another fascinating finish after defeating Roman Dolidze by fifth-round submission at UFC Vegas 109.
The winner of this scheduled five-round battle would not only pick up a credible victory but possibly earn a title shot in the process.
The first round produced plenty of striking action as both men hurt each other with their boxing skills, plus Hernandez attempted his only takedown in round one, which was stuffed by Strickland.
Strickland’s jab was a reliable weapon, consistently landing on the #4 contender throughout the fight, making the most work in the second round.
In round three, the former UFC Middleweight Champion stunned Hernandez with a knee in the clinch before raining multiple punches to knock down and defeat Hernandez by TKO.
The #3 contender maintains his position in the top 15 and will look to fight again to increase his chances of becoming a two-time UFC Champion.
Serbian prospect pulls off upset
The bottom end of the welterweight division was heavily shaken up last year, and it may continue in 2026 after a shocking finish in the co-main event.
Geoff Neal aimed to return to winning ways with only one win in his last four fights, especially with his last defeat ending by first-round knockout against Carlos Prates.
Medic was riding a two-fight win streak with successive first-round knockouts over Gilbert Urbina and Muslim Salikhov, both ending at the exact same time (1:03).
The experienced American was the favourite heading into battle, but that soon changed once the action commenced in the Octagon.
The fight lasted less than 80 seconds as both mixed martial artists were key to earning a knockout in Houston to really make the crowd go wild.
Medic was far more active than ‘Handz of Steel’, using a variety of combinations to trouble his opponent, landing a stunning right hook which caught Neal off guard.
During an exchange of strikes, the Serbian caught the 35-year-old with a vicious left-hook which knocked him out cold, leaving the MMA community completely shocked.
‘The Doctor’ is in the greatest position of his career as he’ll enter the welterweight rankings after beating the #12 contender of the division.
Other highlights from UFC Houston
Melquizael Costa is unranked no more after he stopped Dan Ige at the end of the first round by TKO with a spinning back kick, despite the referee prematurely stopping the bout.
Serghei Spivac kept his position at #7 in the heavyweight rankings when he went the distance with Ante Delija by unanimous decision.
Jacobe Smith continues to be undefeated as he earned a brutal first-round knockout win against Josiah Harrell, with plenty of spectators believing the referee should have stopped the battle sooner.
Michel Pereira broke his three-fight losing streak, doing enough on the judges’ scorecards to defeat Zachary Reese by split decision.
Chidi Njokuani and Carlos Leal had an entertaining striking fight for three rounds, which ended with the Brazilian winning by unanimous decision.
Alibi Idiris redeemed himself and claimed his first UFC win by unanimous decision against Ode Osbourne.
Alden Coria put on a very convincing display and made it six fights unbeaten after defeating Luis Gurule by unanimous decision.
Joselyne Edwards earned the only stoppage on the prelims as she submitted Nora Cornolle in the second round with a Rear-Naked Choke, moving herself up the bantamweight rankings.
Punahele Soriano was victorious in a competitive battle against Ramiz Brahimaj to win by unanimous decision and increase his win streak to four.
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani triumphed on his UFC debut as he just got the better of Phil Rowe to win by split decision.
Jordan Leavitt’s grappling in the first two rounds was enough for him to earn back-to-back wins as he beat Yadier del Valle by unanimous decision.
Carli Judice opened up the event with a unanimous decision victory against Juliana Miller to extend her win streak to three.