What do the NHL and UFC have in common? It’s the fights. And sometimes the on-ice fights become the highlights of a match between two hockey teams. So it was no surprise that the UFC stars Sean Strickland, Dricus Du Plessis, and Tatiana Suarez, are quite fond of Hockey. “Oh yeah. I just love hockey, man,” said Strickland ahead of his middleweight title fight with Du Plessis.
The former middleweight champion made the statement when he was asked to review some high-adrenaline gloves-off moments from NHL games. However, Strickland was the only one who commented, as reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis and women’s flyweight contender Tatiana Suarez also joined in the fun. However, fans got excited when the 33-year-old mentioned the Vegas Golden Knights.
Sean Strickland reveals himself as a Vegas Golden Knights fan
The video started with a clip of the middleweight fighter commenting on an iconic fight from 2017. “I mean, look at that guy smiling. That’s a happy man,” said Strickland as he watched then-Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa smile while squaring up against Radko Gudas, before ending the fight with a superman punch to Gudas’ face.
“That’s a great straight cross, by the way,” Strickland said, impressed with Bieksa’s one-punch KO. However, he also took the opportunity to make a pitch to the Vegas Golden Knights. “We got the Knights. I mean, they’re crushing it,” said the California native, before offering to teach some moves to the Knights. “You guys want to get on skate season and have a little man boxing match?” asked Sean Strickland.
However, the Bieksa vs. Gudas fight wasn’t the only one the trio watched. They also watched the brutal slugfest between Toronto Maple Leafs’ aggressive forward Ryan Reaves and Blue Jackets’ Mathieu Olivier that went down barely two weeks ago. Once again, the reigning middleweight champion and Suarez joined in on praising ice hockey fights. However, NHL, and especially Vegas fans who had already seen the fights, latched on to Strickland’s words.
Golden Knights fans urged the team to take Strickland’s offer
Knights fans found the UFC star’s offer to be both hilarious and useful. “LMAO, the Knights gotta get Strickland on the ice,” commented one fan, who was amused to see the former champion was a Vegas Knights fan. Meanwhile, another fan made the same request but also argued why the Vegas Golden Knights should work with Strickland.
“Knights should hire Strickland as a fight consultant [laughing emoji]. His style would lend well to hockey scraps,” explained the netizen. The Vegas fan raised a valid point with his argument. After all, Sean Strickland’s fighting style is primarily striking based. In fact, the former champion is known for his unconventional twist on the Philly Shell boxing stance made famous by Floyd Mayweather.
Since the ice is no place for ground and pound, all hockey fights start and end on the feet, with officials immediately intervening when a player goes down. However, that’s where other fans pointed out one difficulty Strickland would face. “Strickland, you would have to learn how to skate first. Then try to fight,” one hockey fan commented on Sportsnet’s post.
Another fan said something similar. Watching the pro mixed martial artists critiquing the form of the hockey players throwing punches on stakes, urged the fan to respond. “To all UFC fighters, you guys are amazing athletes but underestimating the skill of fighting on ice takes,” the Instagram user respectfully reminded the fighters. Meanwhile, one Knights fan was so excited he compared Strickland to a movie character.
While Doug Glatt may not be a famous name outside of ice hockey circles, hockey fans love the lead character from the 2011 hockey film, Goons. The film follows the story of a bouncer-turned-hockey player who doesn’t shy away from a fight on the ice. See the similarity? That’s exactly what the fan saw. “Sean Strickland could be our real Doug Glatt,” he commented.
And while Sean Strickland didn’t win his title fight against Dricus Du Plessis, it doesn’t mean the Vegas Knights won’t at least let the UFC in for a special visit. Stranger things have happened. Yet, what’s your opinion on Strickland teaching the Knights some MMA moves? Let us know in the comments.
The post Vegas Knights Fans Make Urgent Plea to Sean Strickland for NHL Season appeared first on EssentiallySports.
