Saturday night, Alexander Hernandez faces the biggest challenge of his mixed martial arts career to-date. The uber-confident 26-year-old will step into the UFC Octagon for the third time to trade blows with a legend in Donald Cerrone.

The past year was a self-described rollercoaster ride for the Ohana Academy product. Eleven months ago, Hernandez wasn’t even in the UFC. He was largely an unknown name, even on the regional scene.

Stepping in to fight Beneil Dariush on short notice at UFC 222, Hernandez melted the ranked lightweight in a matter of seconds. The win sent shockwaves through the MMA world. 

Following up his freshman performance, Hernandez defeated Olivier Aubin-Mercier at UFC Calgary this past summer. While the fight was largely one-sided, it was one “The Great” wasn’t too thrilled about.

Regardless of how Hernandez felt, the UFC seemed happy with his performance, offering Hernandez a spot at UFC 233 in Anaheim against Francisco Trinaldo.

Weeks into his preparation for the Brazilian, Hernandez received a surprising phone call. The UFC offered him a different matchup, this time against a future UFC Hall of Famer for the UFC’s debut on ESPN. 

The switch-up of opponents surprised many, including Hernandez himself.

“I’m sure people are like, ‘Who the f*ck is this asshole and why is he fighting Cerrone?” Hernandez told FloCombat in an interview. “I totally get it, but personally, I know why [I’m getting the fight] and I know what I’m about, and I’m just happy the UFC is seeing it too. 

“Our visions are aligning. This is going to be a huge, monumental, historic event for the UFC, MMA, ESPN, and myself. I rise to these occasions and thrive off of the last-minute change against an opponent who is allegedly out of your reach, seizing the opportunity, and snatching the bag from them.”

Hernandez views the bout in two different lights: magnitude and ability. While he has an appreciation for the hype and name-value a fight like Cerrone brings, the cerebral youngster is more concerned about the matchup from a skills perspective.

“The location, the promotion, the media, the hype, the inaugural ESPN card—all of that shit is aside from the fact that I’m going to have to obliterate Donald Cerrone,” Hernandez said. “Cerrone is still Cerrone—all of this other shit is just bonus.

"It’s all extra. That doesn’t change with the guy standing across the cage. That guy is just an everyday dude to me—a normal f*cking guy. That matchup, I don’t need to worry about anybody’s style. I don’t worry about anybody’s size or shape. I don’t worry about any of that. Everyone should be worried about me, but particularly Cerrone. His style versus my style is a terrible matchup for him.”

Never shying away from radiating honest confidence, Hernandez stated he believes the fight will be over quickly.

“I plan on TKO-ing or KO-ing him in the first or second round,” Hernandez said. “And if I’m being really, really honest, I think it’s going to be in the first. I’m trying to be humble and say it’s in the first two.”