Sean Strickland (32, USA), ranked No. 7 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings, scored his second straight win and demanded a title shot.
Strickland defeated Abus Magomedov (32, Germany) by TKO at 4:20 of the second round in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Magomedov at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 2.
Strickland struggled early in the first round when he was penalized for an eye poke. A poke in the eye makes you see things in two 토토사이트 dimensions and makes it harder to land strikes. In response, Magomedov attacked Strickland with a variety of kicks, including a front body kick and a leg kick.
However, the tide quickly turned after Magomedov’s takedown. Magomedov, who was running low on energy, threw fewer kicks, and Strickland pressured his opponent with his signature forward boxing.
In the second round, Strickland shifted up a gear. He pressured Magomedov with a flurry of punches, and Magomedov could only stumble backwards. Eventually, Strickland knocked Magomedov down with a right straight followed by a left jab, then followed him to the ground and finished the fight with a flurry of punches.
After the upset victory, Strickland said, “At the end of the day, it’s five rounds. I don’t slow down, I don’t stop,” said a satisfied Strickland, who added: “If you want to do a good first round, wrestle, do Peter Pan kicks, go for it, I’ve got rounds two, three, four, five!”
With his second straight win over the Dagestan fighter, the last coming against Nasurdin Imabov (28, France), Strickland rejoined the UFC middleweight title picture.
“I want the title,” Strickland said, “I want the first and only Chinese champion. Let’s do it,” he taunted champion Israel Adesanya (33, New Zealand). Adesanya competed in Chinese organizations such as Wushu and Glory of Heroes during his kickboxing career, often carrying the Chinese flag.
Strickland was referring to Adesanya’s recent criticism of white fighter Drieks du Plessis (29, South Africa) for saying he represents Africa. Adesanya, a black fighter who was born in Nigeria and immigrated to New Zealand, doesn’t like the idea of du Plessis, a white fighter who was born and lives in South Africa, representing Africa.
Du Plessis is scheduled to fight former champion Robert Whittaker (32, AUS) for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 290 on Sept. 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Adesanya wants to defend his title against the winner of that fight at UFC 293 on Sept. 10 in Sydney, Australia.
Aside from du Plessis, Strickland is the only fighter in the UFC’s top eight middleweights who hasn’t fought Adesanya. Adding one more win to his resume could pique the interest of Adesanya and the UFC, which is looking for a new title matchup.