UFC Vegas 76 leads a middleweight fight between Shawn Strickland and Abu Sobian Magomedov.
UFC President Dana White announced the five-round main event during a special announcement Thursday night on the promotion YouTube channel. UFC Vegas 76 takes place on July 1 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
According to White, the yelling Strickland takes a challenge at Magomedov that “literally no one wants to fight.” Magomedov made his debut in the Octagon last September after a series of disqualifications, where he faced Dustin Stoltzfus and stopped him with a forehand kick and punches in the first round.
In Strickland, Magomedov faces an aggressive striker whose constant pressure pays big dividends. Strickland recently took out another contender, Nasuruddin Imamov, to recover from a decision loss to one-time title challenger Jared Cannonier.
The July 1 booking marks Strickland’s fourth fight in 12 months. He is 1-2 after losing to Cannonier and losing by knockout to former champion Alex Pereira.