Lost by decision in the final main event of the UFC in 2022. And in 2023, he won the UFC’s first main event by decision.
Due to Calvin Gastelum’s sudden injury, Sean Strickland (31, USA), ranked 7th in the middleweight ranking, who came in after receiving a request for participation 5 days before the tournament, defeated 12th place Nasurdin Imabov (27, France) in 4 weeks. We succeeded in reversing the atmosphere.
Strickland showed off his boxing skills in the UFC Fight Night main event held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on the 15th (Korean time), defeating Imabov by a 3-0 decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) at the end of the 5th round. ) won.
Strickland, who lost 0-3 to Jared Cannonier on the 18th of last month, waged a point fight with an active offensive this time around. He saw the need for a hard hit that visually appealed to the judges, and punched with force. 메이저사이트
He also utilized his weight advantage. He held Boff, who was lighter than himself, in a clinch in the cage and executed a clever strategy to eat away at his stamina.
Originally, Imabov was supposed to fight Gastelum at middleweight. However, Gastelum’s injury quickly forced him to find a pinch hitter, so his weight class was changed to light heavyweight. On weigh-in day, Imabov weighed about 4.5 kg less than Strickland.
“The only reason Imabov was able to hit me was because I was trying to finish him,” Strickland said in a post-match interview.
Regarding his next opponent, he shouted, “I will fight anyone if the UFC needs it. I am a company man (a person loyal to the company). I will fight Francis Ngannou if I give him money.”
Umar Nurmagomedov (27, Russia), cousin of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, continued his undefeated streak with his first KO win in his life. Umar, ranked 11th in the UFC bantamweight division, defeated Haoni Barcelos (35, Brazil) by punch KO in 4 minutes and 40 seconds in the first round.
It was a picturesque KO. Umar moved forward and attempted a left knee attack, but after seeing Barcelos’ guard fall, he landed a follow-up left punch with an animal sense. Barcelos immediately lost consciousness and collapsed.
In a post-fight interview, Umar challenged the top bantamweight ranks, saying, “I said I would fight anyone, but no one in my weight class responded. I’ll return on March 5 at UFC 285.”