The 26-year-old Cuban & Dominican American stand-up comedian, writer and actor has signed with LBI Entertainment.
Hernanadez currently performs as a featured player on Saturday Night Live.
OnSNL, he has been featured on Weekend Update and appeared in some of the more memorable recent sketches with Pedro Pascal, Bad Bunny, Ana de Armas and Jason Momoa, among others.
Performing stand-up since the age of 18, Hernandez has opened for headliners such as Jo Koy, Dave Chappelle, Tim Dillon, Mark Viera and Gilbert Gottfried.
In 2020, he became a host and creative director for @onlyindade, a Miami-based account with over one million followers.
In 2022 he was selected as a Just For Laughs New Face of Comedy.
Starting in 2023 he can be seen in commercial campaigns for T-Mobile and Nissan.
The 33-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist secured the first defense of his flyweight championship on Saturday, outworking Brandon Royval in a clear decision victory in the co-main event at UFC 296 inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Pantoja (27-5) looked gassed midway through the five-round affair, but still managed to dominate Royval (15-7) on the ground en route to unanimous judges scores of 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46.
For Pantoja, it was his second victory over Royval.
The two met as rising contenders in August 2021, with Pantoja winning by submission.
“The fight was maybe boring. I don’t like to do that [kind of fight],” said Pantoja, who racked up nearly 16 minutes of top control, according to UFC Stats. “I needed to keep this belt for my family and Brazil. Brazil needs some [role models] right now. It’s a very hard place right now.”
Royval looked fresh at the end of the five rounds, but he simply had no answer for Pantoja’s grappling. Royval did well landing his jab and obviously commanded Pantoja’s respect on the feet, but he surrendered eight total takedowns — even in later rounds, when it was clear Pantoja was struggling with the pace.
“I felt a little dizzy during this fight,” Pantoja said. “This guy keeps a level that doesn’t stop any time, five rounds. I love that kid. He grew up [since the first fight]. I knew he was coming here to take the belt and I stayed here to defend.”
In addition to just getting Royval to the canvas, Pantoja was also effective at scoring offense and threatening submissions once he had him there. He passed Royval’s guard on several occasions and very nearly tapped him with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round.
Pantoja had his moments on the feet as well. He clipped Royval with a right hand in the second round that left him visibly shaken, and his kicks to the body were a good weapon, particularly earlier in the fight. Royval seized momentum in the fifth with a steady jab, but Pantoja eventually took him down to squash out the threat.
Pantoja has established himself as the clear No. 1 flyweight in the world. In addition to defeating Royval twice, he has defeated former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno three times, including an exhibition fight on The Ultimate Fighter reality series.
The project includes the participation of famed photographer Estevan Oriol and iconic Los Angeles-based artist Mister Cartoon aka Mark Machado.
Michael Connolly, under his Mad Hatter Entertainment banner, brought the elements together.
Lopez is in final talks to star and executive produce the project through his Travieso Productions, with Javier Rodriguez writing the pilot. Oriol and Cartoon will executive-produce.
“I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Cartoon, Estevan, Jada and Michael for this series and developing a show with STXtv,” Lopez said. “Cartoon and Estevan are the DaVincis of our community; they have been the street chroniclers of our uniquely Chicano story … our American story. I’m looking forward to working with them and the rest of the team to expand their canvas to capture the diverse stories and people that make our culture and community so amazing, colorful and vibrant.”
This authentic L.A.-based series examines a family coming to terms with the falsehoods of the American Dream and their ability to defy expectations.
“I want to create a vision of Los Angeles inspired by my tattoos and murals that enriches and showcases the culture, opening it up to new audiences,” Cartoon said. “Putting together the dream team of Latino street culture and a collection of creative minds headed up by George Lopez, who is born and raised in L.A. and is an icon of our community. George’s experience and sense of humor acts as a foundation for this team.”
The pilot will be directed by Ricardo de Montreuil, who helmed Eva Longoria and Demián Bichir in the Blumhouse/Imagine East L.A.-set drama, Lowriders.During that production, he worked closely with Oriol and Cartoon, who were also involved in the production.
Oriol and Cartoon’s longtime collaborators Mark Suroff and Marco Valadez, who produced LA Originals, also will serve as executive producers with Connolly.
“I’m looking forward to developing this with Cartoon, George, Jada and Michael,” said Oriol. “STXtv truly gets what it takes to develop a real show that can only be made in LA. This is the dream team. Period. It doesn’t get more authentic than this and I’m proud and privileged to be invited on this ride.”
He previously starred in Lopez for TV Land and Saint George for FX. And he had a talk show that ran from 2009-11. While his hit comedy George Lopez, whichended in 2007, ran on ABC, STXtv will zero in on buyers in the cable and streaming markets.
Cartoon is L.A.’s legendary tattoo artist, designer and cultural icon whose stylish and influential global work has been featured on countless celebrities including Kobe Bryant, Eminem, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Beyoncé, Lewis Hamilton, Snoop Dogg and many others. Cartoon also designed the logos for Cypress Hill and Eminem’s Shady Records, and his résumé includes cutting-edge designs for Nike, the LA Clippers and T-Mobile and others.
Oriol is an internationally celebrated photographer, director and urban lifestyle entrepreneur. Beginning as a tour manager for Cypress Hill and House of Pain, he developed a passion for photography as he documented life on the road to become hip-hop’s best-known chronicler; his work has been showcased in bestselling books, select galleries, and institutions, including the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives,Mesa Contemporary Art Center, Petersen Automotive Museum, and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles’ and New York’s Art in the Streets exhibit. He has photographed Eminem, Kim Kardashian, Cypress Hill, Dennis Hopper, Blink-182, Forest Whitaker, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, and Danny Trejo, among many others. He most recently executive produced the film Lowridersand directed the hit Netflix documentary L.A. Originals.
L.A. Originalswas critically acclaimed and extremely successful, introducing new fans to the world to Oriol and Cartoon.
Hernanadez currently performs as a featured player on Saturday Night Live.
