“To the death, Dutchman”, was the promise Sean Strickland made before going into the Octagon to face middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. Instead, what we got from ‘Tarzan’ was a jabs and teep-kicks extravaganza, a true fight to the decision. Moreover, it was ‘Stillknocks’ initiating the exchanges, even breaking Strickland’s nose in round 4 at UFC 312. While the fight was exciting, we saw nothing new from the American fighter. Unsurprisingly, many in the fight community tore into Sean Strickland for his ‘abysmal’ performance, especially after talking a big game. Amid all the criticism, came famed boing coach Teddy Atlas’ opinion which was more constructive than all the heat in Strickland’s face for his UFC 312 performance.
Before we get into Atlas’ comments, let’s establish one thing here. After Strickland’s performance last weekend, is he worthy of another title shot? Likely not. And this is perhaps one of the reasons why he decided to go all out with the marketing for this fight. And it seemed to have worked to a degree, since there was quite a bit of buzz around this card despite it being not as exciting as other PPV cards, according to fans. But cut to fight day, and fans were treated to a defensive masterclass by Strickland that was breached by Du Plessis. And what did the aforementioned Teddy Atlas say?
While speaking on The Fight with Teddy Atlas podcast he said, “He knows what he’s doing, he’s smart, he’s cerebral he’s tough like most of these guys. He’s got a tremendous jab. He lives and dies by the sword. And sometimes you live and die by the sword, which in this case was the jab. And [if] that sword is not there for you, you die, you know, on that sword. And his strength – Strickland’s strength is his weakness”.
Basically, Atlas touched upon Strickland’s style, which is very water-tight, in that it doesn’t allow for opponents to have too many openings against him. However, the same style leads to his downfall, where he’s so water-tight, he can’t break out of that mold. The former champion was constantly urged by his coach Eric Nicksick to be proactive during his fight. But unfortunately ‘Tarzan’ failed to act according to the game plan and make adjustments mid-fight to turn the tide in his favor.
Fans haven’t held back in their criticism, comparing Strickland’s fiery trash talk to the unhinged chaos of Trevor from GTA V—only for his actual fighting style to resemble the calculated, methodical approach of Lester. However, amidst all the criticism Alexander Volkanovski has come out in support of the 33-year-old.
Alexander Volkanovski points out why Sean Strickland failed to change his style
In the UFC, a single loss can change everything. Fighters go from being hailed as unstoppable warriors to being written off for a bad performance overnight. The nature of mixed martial arts is unforgiving—one misstep, one-off night, and a fighter’s reputation can take a massive hit. Fans, analysts, and even fellow fighters are quick to dissect every mistake, often with little regard for the brutal reality of stepping into the Octagon.
This is what exactly Strickland has been facing at the moment. Adding to his problems, former fighter and cage-side analyst Din Thomas even claimed, “Sean Strickland is not who he says he is.” However, according to former featherweight champion Volkanovski, Strickland would have always struggled to change his style. ‘Volk’ took to his YouTube channel to share the reason behind it.
He said, “He was always going to fight his style, so I knew Sean wouldn’t make adjustments. He was just going to stick to what he does because he’s always been pretty effective with it—and there’s nothing wrong with that. You know he does a million rounds, right? You can imagine the hours of sparring because it seems like he spars every day. The hours of him just sparring, sparring, sparring—that’s what he does all the time. So, it might be hard for him to change those habits.” While sparring is essential to know how to navigate a fight, it isn’t a substitute for learning new techniques and actual game-planning. However, some nuts are tough to crack and Strickland seems like one such nut.
But does Sean Strickland really deserve this much criticism for his fighting style? Do you think he needs to go back to the drawing board and reasses his training? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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