It appears like Sean Strickland is taking his upcoming fight against Abus Magomedov very seriously and a video surfaced of his intense training.
In a video uploaded to MMA UNDERGROUND's Twitter account, Strickland can be seen sparring with two opponents as he works on his movements and striking. One of the teammates he was sparring with in the video is his podcast co-host and friend Chris Curtis, who also competes in the middleweight division.
'Tarzan' is taking a risk as he is currently ranked No.7 and will be fighting against Magomedov, who is currently unranked. He is coming off a unanimous decision win over Nassourdine Imavov in a light heavyweight bout this past January. It was a unique time for him as he accepted the fight on short notice after losing a split decision to Jared Cannonier a month prior.
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It will be interesting to see whether the 32-year-old's intense training will pay off as he fights Magomedov next Saturday at UFC on ESPN 48.
Sean Strickland training with former middleweight champion Alex Pereira
Sean Strickland has put in a lot of work in preparation for his upcoming fight and recently got some training in with past opponent and former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira.
There have been a number of videos surfacing on social media showing 'Poatan' working with 'Tarzan' on his striking. It was quite a unique sight as the two fought last year at UFC 276, where Pereira earned a first-round knockout.
It will be interesting to see how the 32-year-old performs following his training with an elite striker like 'Poatan'. Despite being the No.7 ranked middleweight, he still has a pathway to the potential title shot as reigning champion Israel Adesanya has expressed his desire in fighting new opponents.
The former middleweight champion also shared a photo on his Twitter account and noted that he had a great experience training with 'Tarzan', writing:
"Thanks for the training today Sean Strickland! This will be a very productive week." [@AlexPereiraUFC - Twitter]