Sean Strickland beat Abus Magomedov via a TKO at UFC Vegas 76. Strickland faced Magomedov in the main event of the evening. After a tough first round, Strickland showcased his class and striking proficiency as he finished Magomedov in the second.
The controversial UFC middleweight ended 2022 with a two-fight losing skid. However, the 32-year-old made a quick turnaround after his loss in December 2022 and beat Nassourdine Imavov in the first UFC event in January 2023.
Meanwhile, this was only Abus Magomedov’s (25-4-1) second UFC fight. The Dagestan-born German national was getting a huge step up with a shot against the #7 ranked Sean Strickland. The former PFL star was on a three-fight win streak and won his UFC debut in 19 seconds back in September 2022.
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Magomedov started off aggressively before an accidental eye poke on Strickland halted proceedings for over a minute. After Strickland recovered, Magomedov went on the offensive again, investing in leg kicks and landing punches.
Strickland weathered the early storm and took back control in the second round. ‘Tarzan’ stayed composed and relied on his durability as opposed to Magomedov who sprinted through the first round with heavy strikes. Strickland picked his shots throughout the second round as he stalked Magomedov, constantly backing him against the cage.
Eventually, the ranked middleweight dropped the Russian and hammered away until the referee stepped in.
Fans react to Strickland vs. Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76
The middleweight main event between Abus Magomedov and Sean Strickland at UFC Vegas 76 was as advertised. The back-and-forth affair almost ended in the very first minute after an eye poke. But the resilient Strickland resumed the fight and earned the finish.
After the win, the #7 ranked middleweight called for a title shot against Israel Adesanya. Fans will have to wait and see if the UFC obliges to Strickland’s request. However, they did not wait to applaud that statement performance from him on social media.
Nobody saw that coming lol
— Kyle Sprague (@ksprague8491) July 2, 2023
Several fans lost their impression of Magomedov after his performance against Strickland.
Abus thought he was gonna be champion, dude got gassed after 3 mins and wasn't even a hard round
— oliver (@ollefrolle) July 2, 2023
Magomed really gassed out after 5 minutes 🤣
— Vlad 🧀🏈 (@VladB004) July 2, 2023
Anitjer Dagestani down, more to go. Time to fraud check these guys 🥱
— Davon Keann (@DavonKeann) July 2, 2023
Lightweight star Terrance McKinney applauded Strickland’s stamina.
Knew Sean cardio was going to be to much hate him or love him that boy can fight all day and night
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) July 2, 2023
Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira also congratulated Strickland. The former opponents had also trained together in the lead-up to Strickland’s fight.
Congrats @SStricklandMMA 🥇 #UFCVegas76 pic.twitter.com/EDpWmOx4XI
— Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) July 2, 2023
And this is why you don’t book an unranked fighter with 19 seconds UFC experience against a top 5 guy
— Super Fan🇮🇪 (@McGregorRousey) July 2, 2023
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Abus thought he was gonna be champion, dude got gassed after 3 mins and wasn't even a hard round
— oliver (@ollefrolle) July 2, 2023
Sean Strickland showed there are levels to being a fighter with his performance at UFC Vegas 76. He also showed why ranked contenders are no walkovers for anyone.
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Do you think the UFC will grant him his title shot wish? What do you think is next for either fighter? Let us know in the comments below.