This weekend we will see Sean Strickland take on Abus Magomedov at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas Nevada main carding the Middleweight division.
Strickland who is coming up on his tenth year with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotion is entering into this fight with a recent win earlier in the year against Nassourdine Imavov and he’s had plenty of rest and time to be in top shape for this weekends fight. On the other hand Magamedov has only had one fight with the UFC, with his first octagon debut in September of 2022 which he won in the first round at 19 second by knock out.
Fighting Style
Strickland has an effectively unorthodox fighting style and prefers to win his fights by knockout having won ten of his fights that way. Magomedov is a somewhat unknown fighter in the UFC and there isn’t enough history about him in the UFC promotion to analyze what his fighting style might look like going forward. Judging by his first fight in the UFC promotion and his fighting career with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) he is an aggressive opponent showing both confidence in his striking as well as his ability to charge forward. Magomedov’s biggest fight to date has been against Louis Taylor, a match-up for the Middleweight championship, where he lost before transitioning in to the UFC. Much like Strickland, Magomedov is a seasoned athlete with a similar resume as his opponent, but is it to the same standard?
Unranked Fighters Landing Main Card Fights
The bigger question that needs to be asked is why is Strickland, a seasoned and ranked Middleweight fighter being matched with a UFC newbie? What happening being the scenes in the UFC promotion? Is this a reflection of Dana White’s unconfirmed obsession with Dagestani bred fighters? And what does this signify for other ranked fighters?
Strickland Is a Nuisance
Magomedov can’t walk into this fight under-estimating Strickland like he did against Taylor and needs to do his homework as Strickland has shown himself to be a tricky opponent to manage in close range as well as being difficult to take down, and keep down. The fight this weekend will surely shed some light on Magomedov’s technical proficiency and endurance as Strickland likes to wear his opponents down and has the gas tank to let him do it.