UFC accused of bias for pushing Sean Strickland's 1-0 opponent Abus Magomedov

Sean Strickland's upcoming fight against Abus Magomedov, scheduled for July 1, has been a talking point ever since it was announced.

What seems strange about the matchup is the fact that the No.7-ranked UFC middleweight Sean Strickland accepted a fight against an unranked opponent in Abus Magomedov.

The latter has fought just once in the UFC, and while he marked his debut with an emphatic 19-second knockout victory, the fact that Magomedov is headling a UFC card in just his second fight has left many fans baffled.

Speaking about the promotion's decision, UFC middleweight Caio Borralho seemed to accuse the UFC of showing bias towards Abus Magomedov. While suggesting that the UFC is trying to push Magomedov to the top of the rankings with his fight against Sean Strickland, Borralho said:

"I don't know why the UFC is pushing this guy so hard, you know, because he got murdered in other organization by an old guy and now he is here. He [faced] a guy that is 1-4 in his last five fights, so a guy that was losing all his fights. He got this finish, of course, but I don't see too much about this guy, you know, and the UFC is pushing him to the top of the rankings with just one fight in the UFC."

Catch Caio Borralho's comments below:

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Sean Strickland's next opponent: Abus Magomedov claims Dana White was pushing him since UFC debut

Abus Magomedov claimed that the UFC has been pushing him since his UFC debut in 2022 during an interview with BJPENN.com.

The 32-year-old was signed to the UFC after a submission win over Cezariusz Kęsik in 2020 under the KSW banner. He was subsequently booked for his UFC debut against Gerald Meerschaert, Aliaskhab Khizriev, and Makhmud Muradov, but each of those fights ended up being canceled.

Abus Magomedov then went on to finally make his UFC debut in 2022 against Dustin Stoltzfus. While he was able to mark his debut with an emphatic KO, he recalled being under pressure before his debut. He said:

“It was almost two years and there was pressure because I hadn’t fought in a long time. Then, on fight week, I saw Dana White and the UFC really trying to push me which added pressure but I know how to manage it and I just wanted to fight. I had prepared to make my debut three times before so I was more than ready.”