Who is Abus Magomedov? Here's all about Sean Strickland's new opponent who created history on UFC debut

Sean Strickland is set to return to the UFC octagon against Abus Magomedov on July 1 for the main event of UFC Apex.

Magomedov has an overall record of 25-4-1 but has fought in the UFC just once so far. Hailing from Dagestan, Russia, the 32-year-old made his UFC debut back in September last year on the undercard of Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa.

The 32-year-old started off as a wrestler in Dagestan, however, he transitioned into MMA after his family moved to Germany. Magomedov went on to make his MMA debut in 2010 with an impressive submission win over Nicola di Loreto. 12 years and 28 fights deep into his career, Dagestani finally got the opportunity to make his UFC debut in 2022.

In his UFC debut, Abus Magomedov took on Dustin Stoltzfus. Putting on an impressive performance, the Dagestani took care of business and knocked out his opponent with just 19 seconds into the fight.

Interestingly, with his emphatic finish, Magomedov also put his name in the history books as he secured the fourth-fastest finish for a debutant in the middleweight division of the UFC.

Watch the full fight below:

As far as his next fight goes, Abus Magomedov certainly has a tough job at hand in the shape of Sean Strickland, who has fought some of the best fighters the middleweight division of the UFC has to offer.

---

Sean Strickland vs. Abus Magomedov: What did Dana White say about the matchup?

The upcoming Strickland vs. Magomedov bout was announced by UFC president Dana White amongst a number of other bouts in a recently uploaded video on his social media.

In the video, Dana White gave his props to Sean Strickland for accepting a fight against Megamedov, a fighter who "nobody wants to fight."

White stated:

"Sean Strickland fights for the third time in less than seven months. This guy is always ready to fight. He's taking on a guy that literally nobody wants to fight, Abus Magomedov, he is a middleweight with 20 finishes in 25 pro wins. This fight will be in Vegas at the UFC apex."

Watch the video below:

With 20 finishes in 25 pro-MMA wins, Magomedov is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division. On the flip side, Sean Strickland has been competing in the octagon for quite some time now and has faced a number of top middleweights like Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier.

While he has won just one of his last three fights in the UFC, one cannot undermine the skills Sean Strickland possesses. That said, it will be interesting to see if Strickland can cause an early hiccup in Magomedov's UFC journey or not come July 1.