Anthony Hernandez‘s momentum toward a middleweight title shot was snuffed out in a big way by Sean Strickland in the UFC Fight Night 267 main event.

After surging up the ranking with an eight-fight winning streak, Hernandez (15-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) looked to beat a former champion for the first time and secure a chance at gold against Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) on Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. It didn’t play out that way because “Fluffy” had minimal success before being stopped by strikes in the third round.

A massive knee to the body from Strickland spelled the beginning of the end. Hernandez has been finished by body strikes in past fights, and analysts pinpointed that as a potential weakness that could be exposed. It was, and that’s concerning for Hernandez going forward.

Hernandez now has a bigger target on that body than before, and against the upper tier at 185 pounds, he’ll have to shore that up in a hurry. He vowed to get better in the aftermath of the fight defeat, where he was nothing but humble and made no excuses for what unfolded inside the octagon.

At 32, the story doesn’t seem written on Hernandez just yet. This was a meaningful setback, but he appears to have the dedication to be better. The game plan and execution in this fight were questionable, and that’s going to have to evolve if Hernandez wants to touch gold.

Hernandez still hasn’t fought a number of top contenders in the division, and it would make sense for him to fight the winner of Reinier de Ridder (20-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) vs. Caio Borralho (17-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who meet next month at UFC 326 in Las Vegas. Or potentially Nassourdine Imavov (17-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC), who will need someone to fight if he’s skipped over for a title shot against Khamzat Chimaev in favor of Strickland.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Houston matchmaker: Who’s next for Anthony Hernandez after loss?