Sean Strickland

Sean Strickland stepped in on short notice to fight Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Vegas 67 for the first UFC main event of 2023, less than a month after also ...

Sean wore on Imavov some more in the clinch in the second minute of the round but Imavov hit him with an elbow on the break again. Imavov landed a big knee to the head of a ducking Strickland in the final minute but Sean stayed on his feet. Although he did not dominate the round, he comfortably paced the action in the round and the round seemed to be the clearest to score of the fight so far. Midway through the round Strickland landed his biggest punch of the fight, a right hand that hurt Imavov and put him on the back foot. Strickland upped his work rate after that and when the round came to a close he had stolen the momentum. As a result, Strickland stepped in and the bout moved from middleweight to light-heavyweight at the last minute to accommodate him.

A solid showing from Strickland during the first UFC Fight Night event of 2023. Sean Strickland made sure his 2023 got started on a positive note. He snapped ...

Imavov springs back up to his feet but Strickland uses his momentum to press Imavov up against the Octagon. Nurmagomedov missed with a knee to the body but instinctually threw and connected on a slick left hand that put Barcelos flat on his back. Kopylov rushed in with some punches until the ref stepped in and brought the action to a halt. He catches Strickland with a few shots before Strickland presses Imavov up against the Octagon. As a bloody Jackson was stalking, Ige stepped back and absolutely sat on a vicious left hook that blasted Jackson across the jaw and crumpled him backwards against the canvas. Imavov lands a quick shot but Strickland ties him up against the fence. Strickland is pressing Imavov up against the Octagon early. An overhand right and then a left finds a home for Imavov. Whiplashing left lands for Imavov but Strickland ties him up in the clinch once more. Just when it looks like Strickland is slowly tagging him, Imavov starts to pick up the action. A minute left and the two are trading body kicks. Strickland is pressing Imavov up against the fence.

See the top Twitter reactions to Sean Strickland's win over Nassourdine Imavov in the UFC Fight Night 217 main event.

Imavov cannot do the smart thing and his coaches are not screaming at him to get him to extract his head from his ass. And we wanted to use conditioning as a weapon. Round 3 seems like Strickland's clearest winning round. Strickland cruising to a decision down the stretch. Very close round. Imavov lands a big overhand right and a left hook. [January 15, 2023] Strickland (25-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) stepped in to the first octagon headliner of the year as a replacement for Kelvin Gastelum just five days’ out from the event. Strickland pressuring and lands a hard 1-2. Very hard to choose.

Sean Strickland didn't need more than five days' notice to put on a relentless pace over 25 minutes to beat Nassourdine Imavov in the UFC Vegas 67 main ...

Unfortunately, Imavov just wasn’t able to stay on target and his power was diminished thanks to the grueling strategy he dealt with from Strickland in his face throwing punches all night long. Sticking to the basics, Strickland was just methodical as he kept sticking the jab in Imavov’s face and then following with a power punch behind it. Strickland’s left jab with the right hand behind it kept finding a home and Imavov didn’t seem to have a great answer in return. Imavov was able to finally counter after timing Strickland’s strikes, which then allowed him to come back over the top with some serious heat in his hands. A nasty lead jab followed by power punches while constantly marching forward allowed Strickland to get the better many exchanges to ultimately secure the victory and put an end to Imavov’s three-fight win streak. Searching for the knockout gave Imavov an early lead but Strickland’s consistency on the feet and forward pressure started paying dividends with each passing minute.

Strickland had stepped in late to replace Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of the UFC Fight Night 217.

It was the first main event for Imavov in his UFC career, but it was over in 25 minutes. Strickland had stepped in late to replace Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of the UFC Fight Night 217. Sean Strickland defeated France's Nassourdine Imavov via unanimous decision on Saturday to win the light heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Follow along live for the UFC Vegas 67 main event between Sean Strickland and Nassourdine Imavov.

“The Russian Sniper” also has finishes of [Edmen Shahbazyan](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/4666/edmen-shahbazyan) and [Ian Heinisch](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/3616/ian-heinisch) during his win streak. The No. Strickland enters the fight coming off of back-to-back losses to current champ [Alex Pereira](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/5800/alex-pereira) and, most recently, [Jared Cannonier](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/3047/jared-cannonier). 11 ranked middleweight in [MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings](https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/15/23508903/mma-rankings-december-2022-is-sergei-pavlovich-destined-to-become-ufc-heavyweight-champion), Strickland headlines his second consecutive UFC event, becoming the first fighter to do so since [Tito Ortiz](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/52/tito-ortiz) at [UFC 29](https://www.mmafighting.com/fight-card/532/ufc-29) and [UFC 30](https://www.mmafighting.com/fight-card/533/ufc-30) over 20 years ago. [Nassourdine Imavov](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/5457/nassourdine-imavov), the light heavyweight main event of Saturday’s card at the UFC APEX, the promotion’s first of 2023. Imavov enters the biggest fight of his career on the heels of a three-fight win streak.

Sean Strickland stepped up on short notice and won a unanimous decision over Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Fight Night 217.