UFC Houston Preview
UFC Houston happens TONIGHT (Sat., Feb. 21, 2026) inside Toyota Center in Houston, TX. The event will of course be streaming on Paramount+. The main event is Sean Strickland vs. Anthony Hernandez in the Middleweight division, with Hernandez looking to ‘torture’ Strickland and pad his case for a title shot against Khamzat Chimaev. Strickland, who lost to Du Plessis in his last fight might jump to the front of the line if he has an impressive win over the streaking ‘Fluffly’.
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The co-main event has Geoff Neal coming off a terrible loss to Carlos Prates. He’s meeting the KO machine Uros Medic (who has been sparked out once himself). That fight should produce a highlight reel moment or two.
The main card also has Dan ige vs. Melquizael Costa, Serghei Spivac vs. Ante Delija, Jacobe Smith vs. Josiah Harrell and Zachary Reese vs. Michel Pereira.
The UFC Houston “Prelims” are headlined by Chidi Njokuani vs. Carlos Leal. Other “Prelim” bouts of note include Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Punahele Soriano and Jordan Leavitt vs. Yadier del Valle.
UFC Houston Start Date and Time
UFC Houston airs on Paramount+ tonight, which is our new normal.
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The “Prelims” begin at 5 p.m. ET and the main card goes live at 8 p.m. ET. That’s standard operating procedure for the non PLEs right now.
We’re running live results and play-by-play right here starting at 5 p.m. ET. If you’re around, why not hop into the comment section and join in with the live discussion thread.
UFC Houston Quick Results
Main card
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185 lbs.: Sean Strickland vs. Anthony Hernandez
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170 lbs.: Geoff Neal vs. Uros Medic
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145 lbs.: Dan Ige vs. Melquizael Costa
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265 lbs.: Serghei Spivac vs. Ante Delija
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170 lbs.: Jacobe Smith vs. Josiah Harrell
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185 lbs.: Zachary Reese vs. Michel Pereira
‘Prelims’
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170 lbs.: Carlos Leal def. Chidi Njokuani by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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125 lbs.: Idiris Alibi def. Ode’ Osbourne by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
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125 lbs.: Alden Coria def. Luis Gurule by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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135 lbs.: Joselyne Edwards def. Nora Cornolle by submission (rear naked choke), round 2 (2:44) — HIGHLIGHTS
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170 lbs.: Punahele Soriano def. Ramiz Brahimaj by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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170 lbs.: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani def. Phil Rowe by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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145 lbs.: Jordan Leavitt def. Yadier del Valle by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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125 lbs.: Carli Judice def. Juliana Miller by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
UFC Houston Play-By-Play Updates
Main Card
Zachary Reese vs. Michel Pereira
Round 2: A tried Pereira dropped Reese with knees to the body early in round two. Pereira then asked for a pause due to an eye poke, which he got. At this point it started to feel like gamesmanship from Pereira with him finding fouls to give himself a breather. There was a lot of wild exchanges after that, but Pereira seemed to do the most damage (with Reese sporting a possible broken cheekbone). Even so, Reese’s activity and aggression gives him the round for me.
19-19
Round 1: Pereira got to Reese early in round one, landing a hard body kick and then dropping Reese with an overhand right. The round was then marred by two pauses for low blows, both of which were caused by Reese. However, replays showed that the kicks were closer to inner thigh and then tummy than the groin (and the Texas crowd did not like that). Pereira was later able to land a takedown to solidify the round, for me.
10-9 Pereira
Prelims
Chidi Njokuani vs. Carlos Leal: Leal got to Njokuani early with punches in bunches, trapping him against the cage and throwing non-stop volume. A lot of those punches got through (and many also hit the body). After those opening flurries, Njokuani was stuck playing catch-up for the rest of the fight. He also looked tired as a result of that early body work. He managed to stay and get offense off of his own, but Leal was just too busy and too aggressive for him.
Official decision: Carlos Leal def. Chidi Njokuani by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Ode’ Osbourne vs. Alibi Idiris: Idiris was able to find a home for his wild striking, but it was his wrestling that did the heavy lifting in this fight. He was able to get Osbourne down five times, making it very hard to give any round to Osbourne. This is the second fight in a row where his takedown defense has been exploited, resulting in a loss.
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Official decision: Idiris Alibi def. Ode’ Osbourne by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Alden Coria vs. Luis Gurule: Coria, a teammate of Joshua Van, was fighting at home here tonight. He showed a lot of promise, again, by thoroughly dismantling Luis Gurule. He hurt Gurule with his striking, particularly his uppercuts and body kicks. And he was able to bounce and squirm out of bad positions, almost instantly, when Gurule threatened with wrestling. Easy to score that one.
Official results: Alden Coria def. Luis Gurule by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joselyne Edwards vs. Nora Cornolle: Edwards looked pretty shy in the first round, losing the Muay Thai striking battle with Cornolle. In the second, though, Edwards got inside and landed a big slam on Cornolle (injuring her shoulder). Edwards followed up with hammerfists and then worked for the rear naked choke. Cornolle screamed in pain after the bout. She may have had her collarbone broken.
Official decision: Joselyne Edwards def. Nora Cornolle by submission (rear naked choke), round 2 (2:44)
Punahele Soriano vs. Ramiz Brahimaj: That was a great fight. Brahimaj did great in the first round, troubling Soriano with his speed and bodywork. But in the second Soriano’s strength advantage allowed him to spend a lot of the fight with Brahimaj pressed in the cage. In the pivotal third round Soriano came out hot and threw four head kicks in a row, with some sneaking through Brahimaj’s guard. Those hurt Brahimaj and took the wind out of him. He faded a lot down the stretch, due to those. I had Soriano winning 29-28.
Official decision: Punahele Soriano def. Ramiz Brahimaj by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Phil Rowe vs. Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani: Rowe’s tendency to start slow bites him again. He got into a 0-2 hole against Lebosnoyani, who was aggressive on the feet and was able to get takedowns in the first round. In the third Rowe landed hard shots (single shots, though), but wasn’t able to summon up the barrage needed to score a late win. I had Lebosnoyani winning each round, but the third was close.
Official decision: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani def. Phil Rowe by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Yadier del Valle vs. Jordan Leavitt: Leavitt derailed Del Valle’s hype train with a dominating performance on the ground. Leavitt looked very big, and strong, at Featherweight and he proved that Del Valle is still a very raw prospect (he also literally spanked him in the third round). He won every round for me.
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Official decision: Jordan Leavitt def. Yadier del Valle by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Carli Judice vs. Juliana Miller: That was a fun opener. Judice looked like a threat to KO Miller every time they were on the feet, but Miller was able to spend enough time on the ground to stay alive and hear the last bell. Miller also showed some creativity in kicking off the cage to get takedowns.
Official decision: Carli Judice def. Juliana Miller by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Here we go.
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