The Ultimate Fighting Championship is banking on
middleweights for much of its summer schedule.

The UFC Apex will play host to a number of fight cards over the
next few months, including the recently confirmed UFC on ESPN 45
show capped off by Jack
Hermansson vs. Brendan
Allen in June. In addition to that and Vettori-Cannonier’s UFC
on ESPN 46
showcase, the UFC broke
the news on Thursday that Sean
Strickland (26-5) will claim the top spot on a UFC event on
July 1. He will taking on rising contender Abusupiyan
Magomedov (25-4-1) at 185 pounds, in the lone bout matched up
thus far for this Las Vegas-based
UFC on ESPN 47 event.

“Tarzan” Strickland ended a two-fight skid in January when he took
home a five-round unanimous verdict over Nassourdine
Imavov. That victory put the end to a rough patch that included
a knockout at the hands of future champ Alex
Pereira, and also featured a split call loss to Jared
Cannonier. Prior to the “Poatan” setback, middleweight and
light heavyweight Strickland had rattled off six straight wins,
beating tough outs like Jack
Hermansson, Uriah Hall
and Brendan
Allen.

While Strickland holds a litany of in-Octagon experience, with 18
UFC appearances to date, the same cannot be said about Magomedov.
“Abus” will only be competing under the promotion’s banner for the
second time, and has already earned a main event placement. His
debut came against Dustin
Stoltzfus in September 2022, and he belted the Pennsylvania
native with a front kick and wiped him out with follow-up punches
in just 19 seconds. Dating back to 2016, Magomedov has lost just
once, when he succumbed to a knockout blow from Louis
Taylor for the 2018 PFL season championship. The Russian’s
finish rate sits at a clean 80%, far higher than Strickland’s of
54%.





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Sean Strickland Gains UFC Main Event Slot on July 1 Against Abus Magomedov