“The Ultimate Fighter” winner Kamaru Usman stepped into the octagon looking to pick up his ninth victory in a row while Sean Strickland was looking for his fourth. The opening round was grapple-heavy and brought the crowd to a quiet hush in the opening minutes of the fight.
[FIGHT VIDEOS UNDER OFFICIAL RESULT BELOW]
Usman grabbed a hold of Strickland, working for a takedown early on but he did a fantastic job in fighting it off for three minutes. Eventually, however, Usman was able to take him down to the canvas and he towered over him, not able to follow Strickland to the mat right away. Strickland hopped back to his feet with all of one second remaining in the round; Even though there was no near-finish, Usman was on top the entire round and it wouldn’t have been surprising if one of the judges scored it a 10-8.
Usman started to open up in the opening minute of the second round due to the fact that Strickland could not see all too well out of his left eye. He would close it and open it repeatedly all the while squinting, and Usman fired off repeated rights to try and land clean. It didn’t take long for Usman to back Strickland up against the fence and work the clinches before separating repeatedly, ultimately catching Strickland off guard with a massive right hand.
Dropped, Strickland scrambled to get back up but Usman landed directly on top of him while looking for a finish. Strickland showcased his resilience when he refused to be finished, eventually making his way back to his feet where the round would end.
The doctor stepped into the octagon in between the second and third rounds to check on the left eye of Strickland. He allowed the fight to continue, and Strickland approached the final round knowing he had to finish it for the win.
Strickland was taken down for the third time in the final round with three minutes remaining in the fight. Usman did not land anything powerful while on top, but he was able to burn a minute off the clock before Strickland returned to his feet. Despite being on his feet and being down two rounds, Strickland was reserved and cautious in the final round.
Usman was the aggressor and continued implementing his gameplan until the final horn sounded; Usman was as aggressive, pressing, and grinding as good as ever in tonight’s FS1 televised contest. He should be elevated into the top ten with this victory.
Kamaru Usman def. Sean Strickland by way of Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
So powerful! @USMAN84kg scores the knockdown at #UFC210! pic.twitter.com/NW1EmjNZg1
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2017
So powerful! @USMAN84kg scores the knockdown at #UFC210! pic.twitter.com/NW1EmjNZg1
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2017
