Sean Strickland turned in an impressive performance tonight at UFC Vegas 76 as he earned a second-round TKO win over Abus Magomedov in the main event.
Strickland extended his winning streak to two consecutive wins as he defeated Nassourdine Imavov back in January. Not only did he earn a TKO win over Magomedov, but he was also awarded a post-fight bonus for Performance of the Night.
The big question coming out of the event is now who will earn the next title shot against reigning UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. The champion has defeated all the top contenders and has his sights set on the middleweight clash between Dricus du Plessis and former champion Robert Whittaker next Saturday at UFC 290.
Despite du Plessis being the front runner should he defeat Whittaker, Strickland might actually make a strong case should both fighters receive too much damage and be unable to make a quick turnaround for UFC 293.
Adesanya has stressed that he’d like to fight fresh opponents rather than a rematch with Jared Cannonier or trilogy against Whittaker as he has already defeated them both. Based on what transpired tonight at UFC Vegas 76 and ‘Tarzan’s ability to sell a fight against ‘The Last Stylebender’, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched if he earned the next title shot.
UFC 293 is scheduled to take place in Sydney, Australia on September 10 and Adesanya is all but confirmed for the event.
Who do you think will earn the next UFC Middleweight title shot?
Photo Credit: ESPN MMA (@espnmma – Twitter)
