Alexander Hernandez | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Alexander Hernandez will welcome back Chris Gruetzemacher back to the octagon for the first time in over two years.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a lightweight matchup between Hernandez and Gruetzemacher has been added to the UFC’s Oct. 31 fight card. The event takes place at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
BJPenn.com was first to report the booking.
After winning his first two UFC fights and entering the top-15, Hernandez has dropped two of his last three. “The Great” burst onto the scene with a 42-second knockout of Beneil Dariush at UFC 222, along with a unanimous decision win over Olivier Aubin-Mercier at UFC on FOX 30. Hernandez went on to earn an opportunity to face Donald Cerrone at UFC on ESPN+ 1, where Cerrone picked up a second-round TKO finish.
After that, the 28-year-old picked up a unanimous decision win over Francisco Trinaldo at UFC San Antonio in July 2019 and most recently suffered a second-round TKO loss to Drew Dober at UFC Jacksonville in May. Hernandez has since moved to Colorado to train at Factory X.
Gruetzemacher will make his fifth octagon appearance, and his first since an April 2018 loss to Joe Lauzon at UFC 223. The 34-year-old has dealt with injuries, including a torn ACL, that has forced him out of his last two scheduled bouts with Dariush and Jesus Pinedo. “Gritz” was a contestant on season 22 of The Ultimate Fighter and was eliminated from the tournament by Artem Lobov.
The UFC’s Oct. 31 event will be headlined by a middleweight bout between Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall.