Two of the top ten contenders in the UFC middleweight division face off in Las Vegas on February 6. Sportsbooks have Sean Strickland as the favorite to beat Jack Hermansson and further his chances of a title shot.
Hermansson is currently ranked number six in the middleweight division. This is a vital fight for both of these fighters. They’ll probably need to face and beat one of the top five contenders to get a title shot. In the meantime, they need to get a win in February, and the odds favor Strickland. If wanting to place a wager on this fight, look out for the betting offers available
Although born in Sweden and lives in Norway, his early MMA fights took place in England. He debuted in 2010 and won a title in his very first contest. The ECFF middleweight title was won with a KO of Chris Greig in 46 seconds of the third round. You can bet he was happy with that debut.
Five fights in a row were won in England with two first-round wins. 2012 saw him debut in Bellator where he lost his first match to Daniel Vizcaya on a split decision. Another defeat followed four months later, and he headed back to Europe looking to rebuild his career.
He did just that with eight straight wins, winning the Cage Warriors and Warrior Fight Series middleweight titles. With his career back on track, it was time to make his UFC debut. That took place on a Fight Night card held in Hamburg, Germany in September 2016.
Hermansson beat Scott Askam on points and that led to a bout against Cezar Ferreira in Brazil the following month. The globetrotter was unable to defy the odds in that bout and lost in the second round.
He’s not a guy who gives up easily though and won his next two UFC bouts. At that stage, he’d had six fights in six different countries. 2017 saw him back in Brazil, but he was stopped at the end of the first round by Thiago Santos.
December 2018 finally saw him fight in the US. The odds of him getting a title shot began to fall as he won three in a row. That includes winning Performance of the Night when beating David Branch in just 49 seconds.
His run of four straight wins ended in Denmark when losing to Jared Cannonier. 2020 saw him beat Kevin Gastelum in 78 seconds as he added the United Arab Emirates to the list of countries he had matches in. His other fight of the year saw him lose on points to Marvin Vettori.
Hermansson had just one fight in 2021. It was a winning one though with victory over Edmen Shahbayzan. His best move is the guillotine choke submission, and you can bet he’ll do all he can to get that on Strickland.
Sean Strickland is the favorite to avoid that submission hold and move up the rankings. He’s currently in seventh and looking to extend his winning run in the octagon to six fights, with his last loss in 2018.
Strickland celebrates his 31st birthday at the end of February. An early birthday present would be justifying his short odds and beating Hermansson.
The American made his MMA debut in 2008, appearing for the King of the Cage (KOTC) promotion. His eighth bout was in 2011 and he beat Brandon Hunt in the first round to win the KOTC middleweight title. Four months later he had a rematch with Hunt and anyone betting on another first-round win went home as a winner.
After improving his record to 13-0, Strickland debuted in the UFC in March 2014. He got off to a winning start with a victory over Bubba McDaniel. After one more win though, Strickland lost his unbeaten record, losing to Santiago Ponzinibbio, but that was a welterweight contest.
His next three fights were also in the welterweight division, winning two and losing to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. 2018 was not a good year for Strickland as he was hit by a car and a knee operation was required.
Strickland returned to action in October 2020, and he was back in the middleweight division. Anyone betting on an inside-the-distance win was to be disappointed. His opponent Jack Marsham lasted all five rounds.
A fortnight later, he beat Brendan Allen in two rounds in a catchweight bout. His win saw him awarded the Performance of the Night.
His unbeaten run continued last year with two victories. Strickland kept himself in with a chance of a title shot with wins over Krzysztof Jokto and Uriah Hall, both won on unanimous points decisions. Another victory in February would increase his hopes of a crack at champion Israel Adesanya.
