Sean Strickland vs. Abus Magomedov: "Boxed his ears off" - Sean Strickland shows unranked Abus Magomedov his place with vicious TKO despite eye poke; UFC world reacts

A five-round middleweight clash of Sean Strickland vs. Abus headlined UFC Vegas 76. 'Tarzan' proved that he belonged among the top contenders in the middleweight division as he knocked out Magomedov in the second round of the contest.

Before July 1, Magomedov was only one fight old in the multi-billion dollar promotion. In his UFC debut, the 32-year-old made quick work of Dustin Stoltzfus and finished him in just 19 seconds of the very first round.

Strickland, on the other hand, was coming off a unanimous decision victory against Nassourdine Imavov in a light heavyweight clash in January 2023. Prior to that, he had suffered two back-to-back losses against Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier.

The fight started on an unfortunate note as just a few seconds in, 'Tarzan' was on the receiving end of an accident eye-poke that paused the fight for several minutes. But Strickland managed to recover, and the fight resumed shortly after.

From the second round onwards, Strickland started pressuring Magomedov with his pressure. The Russian appeared to be exhausted as 'Tarzan' started to get the better of him.

Shortly thereafter, Strickland managed to secure a TKO victory in the final minute of the second round.

The impressive victory marked 'Tarzan's' first TKO win since November 2020. After the event, several fighters and fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the fight.

UFC featherweight Billy Quarantillo praised Strickland for his boxing skills, whereas filmmaker Will Harris shared his surprise at 'Tarzan' scoring a finish in the fight.

Boxing royalty Teddy Atlas also weighed in and drew parallels between Strickland vs. Magomedov and the iconic boxing encounter between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns.

MMA fans also chimed in on Sean Strickland's performance at UFC Vegas 76. While some congratulated 'Tarzan,' there were others who were unimpressed by his win over an unraked fighter.

Alex Pereira reacts to Sean Strickland vs. Abus Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76

Former UFC champion Alex Pereira complimented Sean Strickland on his impressive win. 'Poatan' uploaded a video of himself watching 'Tarzan's' fight against Abus Magomedov and congratulated him on his knockout victory.

Not too long ago, Strickland and Pereira shared the octagon at UFC 276. The fight did not go well for the former, as he was knocked out by the Brazilian in the opening minutes of the bout.

The victory earned Pereira a shot at UFC gold, and he went on to defeat Israel Adesanya and capture the middleweight title at UFC 281.

About the author

Puneet has a total of 2.5 years of experience and specializes in reporting on MMA and boxing for Sportskeeda. He holds a postgraduate diploma in Journalism & Mass Communication, which aided him in his writing skills.

The iconic interim featherweight title fight between Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes at UFC 189 in 2015 ignited Puneet’s passion for the sport. Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira stands out as Puneet’s favorite MMA fighter as he's drawn to 'Do Bronx's' captivating background story and entertaining persona. He is a believer of MMA being the world’s no.1 combat sport as opposed to Boxing.

While writing, Puneet ensures that his articles stay true to their titles and deliver valuable information to readers. He emphasizes the importance of embedding videos or pictures directly from their original sources to enrich the reader's experience.

Puneet’s professional achievements include covering major events such as UFC 264 and several boxing matches featuring renowned fighters like Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, and Anthony Joshua.

Beyond MMA, Puneet likes to watch movies.

Know More