Sean Strickland explains why he's fighting unranked Abus Magomedov in July 1 UFC headliner

When top-ranked middleweight Sean Strickland’s next fight was announced by the UFC, it turned heads.

Strickland (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) was booked against Abus Magomedov (25-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a UFC headliner on July 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Strickland is ranked No. 7 by the UFC at 185 pounds, whereas Magomedov has fought only once in the octagon. So why did Strickland accept to fight an unranked opponent? His answer was simple.

“They said, ‘Sean, you’re going to be waiting for a long time for a top 6+ guy to open up or we will pay you a lot of money to fight this guy” sooo here we are,” Strickland tweeted. “I just bought a new motorcycle and I’d like another one… thinking a sport bike if anyone has a hook up?!?!”

Magomedov needed just 19 seconds to spark Dustin Stoltzfus in his UFC debut last September. He hasn’t competed since but saw two fights against Gerald Meerschaert in February and Makhmud Muradov in March get scrapped.

Strickland was last seen in action in January when he defeated Nassourdine Imavov in a short-notice light heavyweight bout in the UFC Fight Night 217 headliner. The win snapped a two-fight losing skid, which came at the hands of former champion Alex Pereira and former title challenger Jared Cannonier.