Light-Heavyweight Main Event: Sean Strickland Out strikes Nassourdine Imavov
The UFC’s first event of the year 2023: Strickland Vs Imavov. We saw Sean Strickland dominating as a last-minute replacement for Kevin Gastelum, against “The Russian Sniper” Nassourdine Imavov in UFC Fight Night 217 main event.
Strickland really pulled up the pace in this match. Finding himself successfully throwing many more strikes than his Rus/French opponent, Imavov. The pressure and forward movement of “Tarzan” worked well as the French fighter repeatedly got caught by punches in the first round.
The second frame would see Imavov finding more success on the feet, which caused Strickland to switch up his attack by incorporating takedown attempts and clinch work. The American would frustrate his opponent with body kicks. Especially in the third round and wind up having a lot of success at the close boxing range he imposed.
The fourth round saw Strickland continue his onslaught as Imavov struggled to deal with the overall pressure of the attack. Imavov would show urgency in the fifth round but never came close to doing much damage as “Tarzan” remained the fresher fighter.
After five rounds of actions, the judges awarded Strickland a unanimous decision win with scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 in his favor. Strickland breaks a two-fight losing streak with the victory.
Featherweight Co-Main: Dan Ige vs. Damon Jackson
Featherweight Damon Jackson found himself a little stunned as the first round began with both fighters launching into a brawl. Ige followed that with a series of punch combinations despite the fact that Jacksons’ defense and movement evaded most of the power from these punches.
Damon attempted a takedown but fails and gets poked in the eye during the attempt. The fight gets paused as Damon readjusts his vision and restarts after a few minutes. With the bout back underway both fighters land powerful combinations and a left hook by Ige wobbles Jackson enough for Dan Ige to find the takedown.
Ige keeps the pressure on in round two and Jackson keeps eating deadly combinations. A brilliant right-hand hook makes a huge cut on the forehead of Damon. Shortly after Jacksons’ pace looks to be dropping significantly and Ige looks like he’s in his element. Jackson manages to come back with a kick and an overhand right. Ige counters with an uppercut and a left hook to Knock Out Damon Jackson at 4:13 of the second round.
The RDX Takeaway; Umar Nurmagomedov Destroys Raoni Barcelos
Bantamweights, Umar “The Young Eagle” Nurmagomedov is the betting favorite against Roani Barcelos. Round 1 and both fighters judge and gauge each other in the early moments of the fight, neither engaging. Umar moves in with some low kicks to the leg of Barcelos.
Nurmagomedov circles the cage and both fighters trade a few strikes. Umar moves into close range, landing jabs along the way and connecting with a huge left. He follows it up with a two-punch combo and Barcelos is knocked out cold. Umar Nurmagomedov takes the win with a first-round knockout at 4:40.
UFC Fight Night 217, (UFC on ESPN+ 75 and UFC Vegas 67) ends with a banger of a showdown between Imavov and Strickland. Umar Nurmagomedov alongside Dan Ige, Roman Kopylov, and Allan Nascimento won Performance of the night bonuses, and rightfully so for their amazing victories. Stay tuned as covers MMA News and all the excitement of the upcoming UFC 283: Two Titles, Rio de Janeiro, Teixeira Vs. Hill, Figueiredo vs. Moreno.
