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Sean Strickland and Jack Hermansson met on Saturday night in the main event of UFC Fight Night knowing the middleweight division was in need of fresh title challengers. It was Strickland who managed to make his mark at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, taking a split decision win to extend an impressive winning streak and inch closer to a shot at a world title.

Strickland was very calm from the opening bell, moving slowly and building his entire attack off of a simple and effective jab. That jab allowed him to dictate the distance from which Hermansson had to operate, forcing Hermansson into sloppy takedown attempts from too far outside. This allowed Strickland to easily fend off the attempts for Hermansson to put the fight on the ground.

While Hermansson tried to switch to a striking attack, focusing on kicks to the legs and body, it was a crisp right hand from Strickland that was the first truly meaningful shot of the fight, dropping Hermansson to the canvas with just seconds left in the second round.

The bout became a battle of Hermansson's higher volume and Strickland's far more effective accuracy. Hermansson was aggressive in throwing kicks and pushing forward with wild punches, connecting enough to draw a steady stream of blood from Strickland's nose. The intensity from Hermansson amped up in the final round, continuing to throw a steady stream of strikes, most of which missed as Strickland remained contained with fewer strikes thrown -- but more landed.

After five rounds, the question became whether the judges valued Hermansson's aggression over Strickland's effectiveness. One judge did favor Hermansson's approach, but it was Strickland who ended the night with his hand raised, taking the split decision by sores of 49-46, 47-48 and 49-46.

After the fight, Strickland was frustrated with his measured approach, having waited until the final 10 seconds of the fight to fully unload his complete arsenal.

Still, the victory took Strickland's winning streak to six, five of which have come at middleweight. That positions him as one of the top men in contention for a title shot at the winner of the UFC 271 rematch between champion Israel Adesanya and former champion Robert Whittaker.

"I would love to get a title shot," Strickland said after the fight. "As the UFC knows, I'm a company man. I will fight whoever you put in front of me. But if they have the belt, I will be very happy. Whoever has the gold, Whittaker or Adesanya, I would love to get that fight."