Sean Strickland gets back to winning ways with a five-round decision victory over Nassourdine Imavov.
Sean Strickland starts with his trademark style of walking forward and throwing jabs. Nassourdine Imavov looks to land the left hook that saw Alex Pereira stop Sean. It’s Strickland with the volume and Imavov with the power halfway through one. Sean is giving Nassourdine zero seconds to breathe forcing the action and then clinching on the fence. Sean has a lot more urgency, than in recent performances. However, Imavov is dealing with it well with constant movement.
The second gets underway with Nassourdine trying to find a way to evade the Strickland pressure. An explosive burst sees Sean land a big shot to the Frenchman’s chin, but Imavov eats it. Now in close, Strickland secures a trip, but the fight gets back to its feet quickly. The round ends with an elbow landing for Imavov.
The third starts with Sean following his corner’s advice kicking the body more. They trade big exchanges but shake the offence off and regain the centre. The pressure of Strickland has reduced Nassourdine to minimum output in this round, only landing strikes one at a time. The fight remains the same until the horn.
Back to action, Sean is a master at making a fight play out at his pace and range. Frustration is setting in for Imavov who attempts a clinch, to no avail. With the fatigue comes the lowering of the hands and both men are landing more frequently. Nassourdine shoots a takedown gets it, but Sean gets back up and clinches against the fence and uses his extra weight to wear on his opponent. Strickland turns the pressure up late and lands some nice shots.
The Fifth and final round gets back to action in a predictable fashion. Strickland seems to be pouring on the pressure more, maybe with his fight against Cannonier in mind. Imavov meets the pressure head-on and looks to land the perfect shot. Sean remains smart and keeps Nassourdine against the fence with a clinch. Back into the centre, each man is getting wild as the strikes become laboured. The fight ends with the two men swinging big to the final horn.
(49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in favour of Sean Strickland.
What’s Next?
Putting his two-fight losing streak behind him. Sean regains his form and looks to make good of it next time out. A performance fight fans have come to expect from Sean, his pressure and volume wins him the fight.
Ranked at number seven going into the bout. Despite it taking place at Light Heavyweight, he should move up the ladder this time next week. Always game and ready to fight, Sean could fall into another short-notice fight to earn his next opportunity.
If Sean wants to wait and try to work his way towards title contention, the top of the Middleweight division is mostly booked up as of now. However, there are still fighters free to fight. Paulo Costa seems unlikely to return, but it’s a fun fight. Robert Whittaker is left without an opponent. Knowing Sean he’ll most likely fill in when someone falls out of one of the upcoming bouts.
What do you think is next for Sean?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
