Alex Hernandez is now almost two weeks removed from his tough, knockout loss to the veteran Donald Cerrone.

With a bit of space between himself and the loss, he seems to understand where he erred; where it all went wrong.

“I could see him starting to question things, question himself, and instead of sitting back and being patient, I had this idea in my head I had to get the next one,” Hernandez said told MMAjunkie Radio this week. “Where I pressed, he was patient. I pressed to my demise. I gave him shots. I was forcing shots that weren’t there instead of picking the ones that were readily available if I played a smarter game. I started exposing myself to shots, giving shots, letting that clinch game open. That was kind of the edge of the fight.

“(I) landed a good elbow over the eye, and when you start to see someone leaking, it’s kind of this primal instinct and a big adrenaline buster. You can taste the blood and when you make eye contact, it’s like, ‘Mother(expletive), I just gave this guy the edge.’ He knew it, too. I didn’t stop bringing it, and I should have slowed down at times. I got him on his heels moving, and I had it in my hands. To my own demise, I fell on my own sword.”

Having had some time to meditate on this loss to Donald Cerrone, Alex Hernandez now feels he could perform much better in a rematch. He’ll understand if he never gets that opportunity, but still hopes it happens down the road.

“(A rematch) would be extraordinary,” Hernandez said. “That would be so (expletive) sweet. I don’t know. If it does, beautiful. If it doesn’t, I understand why it wouldn’t. Either way, it was a learning lesson and if it wasn’t this one, it would’ve been the next one, because the approach that I have has to change.”

Does a future rematch between Alex Hernandez and Donald Cerrone interest you?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 1/29/2019.