On This Day: Sean Strickland pulled off a wild come-from-behind knockout win.
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is known for outpointing many of his opponents, including in recent victories over Paulo Costa and Israel Adesanya. But his most-recent knockout victory showed his durability and relentlessness inside the Octagon.
Strickland and Abus Magomedov clashed in a middleweight headliner in July 2023. The UFC Fight Night at the Apex featured Strickland’s return to 185 lbs after outpointing Nassourdine Imavov in a light heavyweight bout just months earlier.
At the time, Magomedov was labeled as a potential middleweight boogeyman by UFC CEO Dana White. White claimed many middleweight contenders turned down a matchup with Magomedov, before the matchmakers reached out to Strickland.
Sean Strickland’s last KO came after a wild first round against Abus Magomedov
While Strickland vs. Magomedov was booked for a five-round main event, Magomedov fought like the matchup was set for only one round as he blitzed Strickland in the opening minutes.
Magomedov had Strickland badly hurt after landing a flurry of punches in the first minute of the fight. Magomedov also landed a rare takedown on Strickland, who usually has solid takedown defense, to control the early round pace.
But after Round 1, Magomedov appeared visibly exhausted after his frantic output at the start of the fight. Strickland, known for his conditioning and forward-pressing approach to fighting, took advantage of Magomedov’s fatigue.
With Magomedov backed up against the fence, Strickland dropped Magomedov with a right hand before securing the win with brutal ground-and-pound.
Just months later, Strickland became the UFC middleweight champion by pulling off one of the UFC’s all-time upsets at UFC 293. He defeated Adesanya by unanimous decision after dropping the then-titleholder in the first round.
As for Magomedov, he hasn’t lived up to his initial promise in the UFC Octagon, but the former PFL standout has turned the tide with three consecutive wins. He most recently outpointed Michel Pereira by unanimous decision at UFC Kansas City.
Sean Strickland is in hot water after storming the cage to attack Tuff-N-Uff fighter
Fast forward to 2025, and Strickland is in a peculiar position in his UFC career. After two middleweight title losses to Dricus du Plessis, Strickland is out of the title picture and faces a potential suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Strickland and longtime teammate Chris Curtis confronted Tuff-N-Uff 145 winner Luis Hernandez on Sunday after cornering Miles Hunsinger. After trading verbal barbs in the arena, Strickland charged at and punched Hernandez before security personnel escorted him out of the arena.
Strickland has since expressed an unapologetic reflection on his actions at Tuff-N-Uff 145 and doubled down on storming the cage. NSAC could potentially hand him a penalty after they sanctioned the card.
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