Sean Strickland defeats Jack Hermansson via split decision in the main event of UFC Vegas 47 on February 5. While two judges scored it 49-46 for Strickland, one judge gave it to Hermansson (48-47).
Strickland maintained his distance and stuffed all of his opponent’s takedowns. He did not over commit to any of his strikes and kept his shape throughout the fight.
After a 5️⃣ Round battle, Strickland emerges victorious at #UFCVegas47 pic.twitter.com/xlH6gwLK8g
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 6, 2022
The 30-year old kept firing the jab all night long. What it did was, it made Hermansson very wary of a counter-strike while attempting a takedown. Hence, the Sweden native tried to throw looping punches in order to set up traps for Strickland. But the latter was too swift on his feet and showed an incredible defence that was hard for Jack to penetrate.
???? @SStricklandMMA is a company man, but the belt is top of mind! ???? #UFCVegas47 pic.twitter.com/oFXPEMA0S4
— UFC (@ufc) February 6, 2022
This takes Sean Strickland’s win streak in the middleweight division to 5 in a row now. And following the fight, he called for a title shot. However, Sean also added that he was not happy with the way the fight went. He felt as if he did not fight to his potential. The contest was a very monotonous one as neither fight pulled the trigger. The Swid was wary of Strickland’s power, while Sean did not want to overextend his punches in the fear of being dragged down to the mat.
Talking about his performance, Sean said, “You know man, I was being a pansy. I should have stayed in the pocket and thrown like I did in the end. Maybe I let the pressure get to me. Again, dude, I’m sorry. I was kinda fighting like a b***h right there.”
Will Sean Strickland fight for the title next?
Coming into this fight, Sean Strickland was ranked no. 7 in the middleweight division. He just defeated the guy ranked one above him in form of Jack Hermansson. By upcoming Tuesday, UFC will update the rankings and it will be interesting to see whether this performance was enough for Sean to break into the top 5.
Even if he doesn’t, there is a chance that the American might get a chance to fight for the title. While Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya is set to fight next weekend, all the other competitors in the Top 5 have fought for the title already, except for Jared Cannonier. Hence, there is an outside chance that fights for the 185 lbs strap next.
However, if that does not happen, Strickland is just one fight away from stepping into the octagon against the winner of the main event of UFC 271.
