Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Two top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweights
will have 25 minutes to handle their business in February. The promotion’s broadcast partner of ESPN
announced the headliner of the
UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 5 on Friday. Across five rounds
at 185 pounds, Jack
Hermansson (22-6) and Sean
Strickland (24-3) will toe the line in search of a top-five
spot in the division. The fight is likely to take place at the UFC
Apex in Las Vegas, although that has not yet been officially
confirmed.
Sweden’s Hermansson has alternated wins and losses in his last
five, with victories over Ronaldo
Souza, Kelvin
Gastelum and Edmen
Shahbazyan interspersed by defeats to Jared
Cannonier and Marvin
Vettori. Leading up to his meeting with Cannonier, Hermansson
had strung together four victories in a row, beating names like
Ronaldo
Souza and Gerald
Meerschaert on his way up the middleweight ranks. “The Joker”
sports a high career finish rate of 77%, with six stoppage wins to
his credit during his Octagon tenure.
The polarizing Strickland has chained together five straight
victories, most recently a five-round decision win over Uriah Hall in
July. As a middleweight, Strickland has yet to taste defeat, with
all three of his career losses to Santiago
Ponzinibbio, Kamaru
Usman and Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos coming at 170 pounds. Since returning to the
division in 2020, Strickland has won three times, and “Tarzan” also
scored a knockout of Brendan
Allen at a 195-pound catchweight contest on short notice.
The UFC Fight Night event with no current number on Feb. 5 has a
mostly filled billing, although the bout order has not yet been
determined. Of note, Sam Alvey will
try to earn his first win in eight fights when he takes on fellow
struggling middleweight Ian
Heinisch. Additionally, a rescheduled pairing between “The
Ultimate Fighter: Season 29” middleweight finalists Bryan
Battle and Tresean
Gore is set for this show slated for Las Vegas at the UFC
Apex.
