Nordine Taleb and Sean Strickland engaged in a battle of welterweights looking to sneak into the top 15 at 170 pounds at UFC Moncton, with Strickland getting a big finish.
Sean Strickland came into the bout looking to make a big statement in the final fight of his contract, having lost two of his last three. Prior to that stretch, the lanky welterweight was 5-1 in the UFC, with the only loss coming to top-10 fighter Santiago Ponzinibbio.
Nordine Taleb looked to really start putting things together in December of last year. Having won two in a row and three of four including a big knockout win over Erick Silva. However, he then lost in quick upset fashion to Claudio Silva in Liverpool in May. He was looking to get back on track with a win over Sean Strickland who was also struggling. He would not.
The first round saw Strickland moving forward with Taleb on the backfoot. However, despite being on the backfoot, Taleb landed tons of good shots in the first round, landing some good leg kicks and some straight hands on the pressuring Sean Strickland. Going into the second round, Strickland needed to change some things up.
He would then improve his range in the second round, landing some effective punches on Taleb. Eventually, he rocked Taleb and looked for the finish but Taleb made his way back to his feet. That did not last much longer, as Strickland would drop Taleb again. Once he was on top, he started landing big shots for the finish, and just like that Sean Strickland was back on the winning trail.
Taleb would argue the stoppage, but the replay showed a heavy right hand bouncing his head off the canvas, making it tough to argue that the stoppage was not justified.
Sean Strickland def. Nordine Taleb by TKO (Punches) in Round 2 (3:10)
