Sean Strickland won. He got his win bonus. He’ll probably jump from No. 7 to 6 in the middleweight rankings. He’s now on a six-fight winning streak
But beyond that, it was mostly blah.
His split decision victory Saturday over Jack Hermansson in the main event of UFC Vegas 47 at Apex was a largely forgettable affair. Strickland apologized to the crowd in his post-fight interview in the Octagon, saying, “I was a pansy.”
Inexplicably, the fight was scored a split decision. Sal D’Amato had Hermansson, 48-47, while judges Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijo each had Strickland, 49-46. Yahoo Sports had Strickland, 49-46.
No way did Hermansson win that fight, but it was also not the classic that some had envisioned.
The talk was much better than the fight itself.
It happens.
Not every fight is going to be a wild toe-to-toe slugfest, but neither man seemed willing to take risks that could have turned into a statement-making win.
Both of them needed that given their positioning and the elite talents above them in the middleweight division. Strickland, who said he got caught worrying about…
