Sean Strickland just put on the best performance during his time at Middleweight in the UFC when he destroyed the hype train Abus Magomedov in round two at UFC Vegas 76.

There was a ton of hype surrounding Abus Magomedov coming into his first main event spot with the UFC. His first and only UFC appearance lasted a whole 19 seconds and Dana White and the UFC brass tried to pull an Alex Pereira and feed him to Strickland to see if he was elite but we quickly found out that he wasn't.

In the first round, Strickland seemed as if Magomedov was going to run away with the fight as he tripled him up on strikes landed in the early going. As his head coach Eric Nicksick pointed it out, it was the ol' “Rope-a-dope” where Strickland gave Magomedov all the confidence in the world in that first round and then once round two came he was a different beast.

As soon as the second round started Strickland came forward like a terminator applying immense pressure and just hammering Magomedov with heavy shots. Magomedov wilted as we've seen in some of his previous fights outside the octagon and eventually, Strickland dropped him and finished him with a barrage of strikes. The Strickland subsequently called for a title shot and it is hard to ignore his claims at this point.

Now the question lies in what is next for Sean Strickland, we take a look at the potential matchups that could be next for the surging Middleweight contender.

Loser of Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis

This seems like the most no-brainer matchup for Sean Strickland. Since both Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis are fighting for the #1 contender spot this would be the best fight for Strickland to show that he is worthy for the next title fight. A fight against Whittaker or Du Plessis would definitely be an enticing fight for the fans as Strickland is one to never back down from a challenge or a fight. Strickland needs to be on the short list of potential title contenders and this is the fight to make that happen.

Khamzat Chimaev

Many aren't jumping at the opportunity to fight Khamzat Chimaev but if you throw the right amount of money at Strickland he will fight anyone, anywhere, and at any time. Chimaev needs a welcome fight inside the top 10 and Strickland can give him that fight much like he has done for most of the hype trains in the Middleweight division. The UFC is trying to fast-track Chimaev to a title shot so a win for either Strickland or Chimaev in this matchup would be next in line for a title shot after Israel Adesanya takes on the winner of Whittaker vs. Du Plessis.

Marvin Vettori

Marvin Vettori is coming off a lopsided beatdown to Jared Cannonier who Strickland arguably beat in their matchup last year. Even with coming off a loss in his last matchup, this would be the step in the right direction for Strickland to move closer to a potential title shot. A win over Vettori for Strickland would give him a top 5 win and continue his winning streak to three. As Strickland said, Adesanya needs fresh and new blood and the fans would love to see the craziness that ensues if he were to get his first-ever title shot.