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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer
Sean Strickland earned the 11th knockout of his career on Saturday, with a second-round finish of Abus Magomedov at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
The TKO came at 4 minutes, 20 seconds. Referee Mark Smith stopped the middleweight contest after Strickland (27-5) unloaded a barrage of strikes on Magomedov (25-5-1) on the ground. The finish, which marked Strickland’s first since 2020, headlined the UFC’s event inside the Apex.
The UFC’s No. 7-ranked middleweight going in, Strickland survived a bad opening round against his Russian adversary. He was outstruck 32-11 in the first round, according to UFC Stats, before going on to dominate the second frame.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got five rounds of fun,” Strickland said. “I ain’t slowing down and I’m not stopping. If you want to have a good first round, bring it. We still have [Rounds] 2, 3, 4 and 5.”
Magomedov looked strong early on in his first UFC main event, but he wilted quickly once Strickland’s volume and accuracy increased in the second round. Strickland landed 70 total strikes in the frame, which was the most he has landed in a round during his UFC career.
Strickland has won back-to-back fights after dropping two high-profile bouts against Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier in 2022. This was a risky bout for him to accept, as Magomedov is very experienced outside the UFC but has yet to fully make a name for himself inside the Octagon.
Immediately after the win, Strickland called for a title shot. He has never vied for a UFC championship.
“The title, man. I want the title,” Strickland said.
Current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is expected to defend his belt in September against the winner of a matchup between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis on July 8.