Despite only five days notice, Sean Strickland set a fast pace to beat Nassourdine Iavov in the UFC Vegas 67 main events. It took just 25 seconds for Sean Strickland to win.
In an attempt to get rid of the bitter taste from his last fight, just weeks prior, Strickland agreed to take over Kelvin Gastelum’s place. Strickland won the fight with a nasty jab, power punches and a relentless march forward. This ended Imavov’s three-fight winning streak.
The final scorecards read 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 with Strickland getting the nod by unanimous decision.
“It was a close fight with Jared [Cannonier] but I won,” Strickland said. Bad judging is what brought me here. I can beat 25 in a matter of minutes. It takes me an hour to fight.
“The only reason this man hit me is because I wanted to finish him. I’m trying to go for those finishes, especially after my last boring fight. I don’t want that to be tagged to my f****** name.
While Strickland won the fight, Imavov was not nervous at all. He was constantly headhunting his opponent and using powerful, heavy hooks to the feet. Imavov had an initial lead in the search for the knockout, but Strickland was able to maintain his footwork and apply forward pressure.
Strickland’s prowess to just move in a straight line and not throw many punches at once seemed to disrupt Imavov’s rhythm, as he continued to step backwards after each exchange. Strickland remained true to his basics and continued with the jab at Imavov, followed by a powerful punch behind him.
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 late elbow strike on the inside also connected as Imavov sliced down on Strickland just before the second round came to an end.
While he was cautious about the power being returned at him, Strickland just kept pounding at Imavov. This was frustrating for the Russian-born fighter. 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.
As the fight faded into the fourth and fifth round, Strickland’s pace and volume striking attack were just relentless, although Imavov wasn’t going away. 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.
It was an impressive showing from Strickland, especially considering the extenuating circumstances after he took the fight less than one week ago. Strickland appeared ready to take on whatever UFC has in store for him, especially if they continue paying him well.
“Whatever the UFC finds me worthy. Strickland stated, “I’m a guy for a company.” “You pay me, I’ll fight Francis Ngannou.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/14/23555680/sean-strickland-volume-striking-relentless-pace-beat-nassourdine-imavov-in-ufc-vegas-67-main-event?rand=96749
