Former UFC middleweight champ predicts Sean Strickland vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Sean Strickland will be taking on Nassourdine Imavov in the UFC's first main event of 2023 as a short-notice replacement following Kelvin Gastelum's withdrawal due to injury.
Imavov is the slight favorite heading into the bout, and former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping believes he will be victorious on Saturday night. 'The Count' believes that the five-round fight will be too much for Strickland, who has done little preparation ahead of the contest.
Bisping broke the fight down during a recent episode of the Believe You Me podcast and said the following:
"Strickland's good, and he's awkward. Imavov's the better grappler and probably hits a bit harder, Strickland uses a lot of jabs. But he can frustrate people with his movement, he can be very elusive and I think he'll do the same thing. I've got Imavov, simply because it's 5 rounds and it's short notice [for Strickland]. I don't think Sean, he's not gonna knock him out. But you never know."
Watch the video below from 1:26:50:
Sean Strickland competed in the final UFC main event of 2022 against Jared Cannonier at UFC on ESPN 42 and lost via a narrow split decision. The bout took place on December 17, and Strickland was spending time away from training when he received the call to fight this weekend.
The bout will be contested at light heavyweight (205 lbs) due to Sean Strickland's current weight being in the range of 215 lbs, as he disclosed in a recent interview with The Schmo.
Michael Bisping believes that 'Tarzan' won't have the stamina to fight for 25 minutes and will need to finish the fight on the feet.
Sean Strickland blasts "stupid" judges officiating Jared Cannonier fight last year
Sean Strickland was defeated by Jared Cannonier in the last UFC event of 2022, in a fight that could have gone either way. Strickland outstruck his counterpart in four of the five rounds, however, two of the three judges awarded Cannonier the win.
'Tarzan' was visibly upset when the result was announced and blasted the judges once again during a recent interview with The Schmo by saying:
"Let me tell you something, 'cause judges are idiots. What you guys saw was a Mayweather style of fighting. I didn't get f***ing hit, I got a scratch on my nose. There was so much f***ing perfection in that, and you've got stupid f***ing judges and all they do is f***ing... I don't even know what they do. Probably don't even watch the fights."
Watch the interview below from 1:20: