In the first round, the experienced American allowed the recent UFC debutant to demonstrate his entire arsenal and show everything he is capable of, and in the second five-minute period he taught his opponent a boxing lesson, ending the fight with a technical knockout 40 seconds before the next break signal.
In a post-match interview, Strickland stated that he would like to test himself in a duel with the current title holder, Israel Adesanya, whom he has traditionally called “the first Chinese UFC champion.”
In the co-main event of the event, Russian-Kazakh lightweight Damir Ismagulov suffered a second defeat in a row, following the results of three rounds by unanimous decision with a score of 30-26 and 30-27 twice lost to American Grant Dawson, who dominated him on the ground for most of the match due to the advantage in wrestling technique.
In an interview after the fight, Dawson challenged Tony Ferguson and Benil Dariush, and also left a message for the reigning division champion Islam Makhachev, whom he promised to remove from the throne.
The preliminary card of the tournament closed the welterweight fight between Rinat Fakhretdinov and Kevin Lee, in which the Russian finished the American by guillotine choke already in the 55th second of the match.
In the first bout of the event, Moldavian heavyweight Alexander Romanov returned his career to a successful track after two defeats in a row, defeating Bulgarian Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision.
Among other results, we note the unsuccessful performance of the Russian woman Yana Santos, who, following the results of three rounds, lost by a separate decision to the Brazilian Carol Rosa.
Early victories were won by Benoit Saint-Denis, Nursulton Ruziboev, Joanderson Brito and Elvis Brenner.
All UFC on ESPN 48 results.