On today in 2023, Sean Strickland proved himself to be a invaluable asset to the UFC.
Strickland is putting within the work ahead of his upcoming return to the Octagon which will probably be his first fight in over a yr.
The previous UFC middleweight champion is ready to face Anthony Hernandez within the most important event of UFC Houston on February 21.
Following an extended break after a disappointing outing at UFC 312, some have questioned whether Strickland’s best days are behind him.
One thing that’s for certain is that he was at his best when he was in a position to stay more lively, as was the case when he stepped up to save lots of a most important event on fight week.
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Who wins the UFC Houston most important event?
Sean Strickland put the pressure on Nassourdine Imavov in a short-notice fight up a weight class
On Monday, January 9 in 2023, Sean Strickland replaced an injured Kelvin Gastelum to headline UFC Vegas 67 on short notice.
The controversial American had only competed the previous month, going five rounds with Jared Cannonier and suffering a split decision loss that he heavily debated.
One other tough test awaited him on the Apex in the shape of France’s Nassourdine Imavov.
His shortened preparation didn’t impact Strickland’s trademark output and pressure, with him outlanding his opponent by 182 significant strikes to 123.
On account of the short notice nature of the bout, it took place at light heavyweight, with Strickland being declared the winner on all three scorecards after five competitive rounds, with two judges seeing the bout 49-46.
Imavov, who Khamzat Chimaev has named as his next challenger for the middleweight title, had a no contest in his following bout before putting together a five-fight win streak to climb to the highest of the division.
As for Strickland, his second outing of 2023 saw him stop Abus Magomedov within the second round which might find yourself being the victory that secured him a title shot against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.
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Sean Strickland recently suggested that he could fight at light heavyweight again
Sean Strickland believes that Khamzat Chimaev being the middleweight champion has left the division “on ice” as a consequence of how lively the undefeated titleholder is.
The previous champ spoke about this in a video posted on X, where he suggested that his hopes of winning one other belt can be simpler to perform if he moved up a division to fight at light heavyweight again.
“The middleweight division doesn’t exist,” Strickland said. “I’d be higher off attempting to fight for a 205 belt than I might the middleweight belt. It just doesn’t exist anymore, man. That is what we’ve got.”
Strickland, who has fought at welterweight within the UFC, competed at light heavyweight in his third pro fight, submitting his opponent in just below two minutes.
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