Sean Strickland made his case that he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
Strickland doled out a beating to the detriment of Abus Magomedov, who looked completely out of his depth. After luring Magomedov into a false sense of security in round 1, Strickland upped the pressure and unloaded on him.
With Magomedov mentally beaten and physically exhausted, Strickland mauled him against the cage, strafing him with strikes. After Magomedov hit the canvas, Strickland was all over him and drew the stoppage.
It was the second straight impressive win for Strickland. He last defeated Nassourdine Imavov on short notice last January. Prior to that, he suffered consecutive defeats to Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier. He’s clearly shown no ill-effects, looking fantastic in his bounce-back fights.
With the lack of available middleweights, and based on the strength of his last two wins, Strickland believes that it’s his turn to challenge Israel Adesanya for the title. Considering that Strickland is one of the most colorful personalities in the division and has been on a strong run of late, the UFC could do worse.
“Every time they try to bring new blood in, I send them back. Give me the f*cking title. I earned it.”
Perhaps Strickland might get what he’s asking for. As Adesanya is strongly rumored to headline UFC 293, Strickland is one opponent he hasn’t faced yet in his long run as middleweight champion.
With the win, Strickland improves to 27-5.
Magomedov drops to 25-5-1 in defeat.
