Preview: UFC on ESPN 48 ‘Strickland vs. Magomedov’

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will head back to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for UFC on ESPN 48, which fits into the typical mold of offering some entertaining action with little in the way of true stakes. Much of the focus has rightfully centered on the headliner, a middleweight pairing between Sean Strickland and Abusupiyan Magomedov that feels thrown together, even by present-day standards. Beyond that, this is a surprisingly interesting main card. Grant Dawson looks to make the long-awaited jump to lightweight contender with a win over Damir Ismagulov in the co-feature, while rising talents Michael Morales, Ariane Lipski and Ismael Bonfim try to build on impressive performances. Add in an odd matchup between Brunno Ferreira and Nursulton Ruziboev to kick off festivities, and this would be a strong offering with something better in the main-event slot.

Now to the UFC on ESPN 48 “Strickland vs. Magomedov” preview:

Middleweights

#7 MW | Sean Strickland (26-5, 13-5 UFC) vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov (25-4-1, 1-0 UFC)

ODDS: Strickland (-145), Magomedov (+125)

This is a solid matchup, even if it is stretched quite thin as a main event. This marks Strickland’s fourth headlining assignment in his last five fights, as he has become part of the UFC’s rotation of reliable plug-and-play fighters hanging around the fringes of title contention. Strickland made his UFC debut in 2014 and hung around for a few years as a relatively successful if nondescript welterweight until 2018, at which point he was involved in a motorcycle accident that changed the course of his career. Initially, Strickland’s injuries were severe enough that it threatened to end his career entirely, but upon his return to the cage two years later, he had actually changed for the positive. Strickland had bulked up to a well-built middleweight thanks to his injuries, which made him much more comfortable as a pressure-oriented bully. Thanks to his willingness to keep up a busy schedule, it was only months before Strickland marked himself as a potential contender in his new weight class. Strickland’s approach of marching down opponents with an upright style seemed easy to exploit in theory but much more difficult to outfox in practice, owing to his defensive vision and ability to sling offense right back at his foes. However, the back half of 2022 was particularly cruel for Strickland, and it was partially of his own doing. Most figured he would not be stubborn enough to meet Alex Pereira head-on with his usual style, but Strickland chose to do just that and unsurprisingly ate a brutal left hook for his troubles. After then dropping a narrow decision to Jared Cannonier in the UFC’s last fight of the year, Strickland seemed relatively aimless heading into 2023, though he did quickly regain his momentum, stepping in on late notice to win a five-round affair over Nassourdine Imavov in January. With most of the other top middleweights booked, Strickland did not seem to have much of a clear direction for his next fight a few months ago, but a main event against the fairly unknown Magomedov was not on anyone’s radar.

Born in Dagestan and representing Germany, Magomedov was a solid pickup for the UFC in 2021. He was a standout of the Professional Fighters League’s 2018 season and looked like the type of well-rounded vet ready to plug into the upper tiers of the UFC’s middleweight division. Eventually Magomedov’s imminent UFC debut became more of a running joke, owing to fight after fight falling through thanks to issues on his side until he finally made it to the cage in September, taking on Dustin Stoltzfus. At the very least, Magomedov’s performance was impressive, as he clipped Stoltzfus repeatedly and knocked him out in just 19 seconds, but it looked like he was going to become an afterthought once again as a few follow-up bookings fell through—until he was suddenly one-half of this main event. Given that Magomedov is a finished product at this point in his career, it at least makes some sense to quit wasting time and see if he can become an immediate contender, particularly since the Stoltzfus victory was one of many that shows he can quickly catch an overconfident opponent like Strickland unaware. However, if he cannot spark Strickland out of the gate, Magomedov tends to get wilder as his fights go on; and Strickland also has the level of defensive wrestling that should be able to neutralize any takedowns, which is typically Magomedov’s safety valve. The bet is that Strickland can survive early and put together another workmanlike win. The pick is Strickland via decision.

Jump To »
Strickland vs. Magomedov
Ismagulov vs. Dawson
Morales vs. Griffin
Gatto vs. Lipski
Bonfim vs. St. Denis
Ferreira vs. Ruziboev
The Prelims