If you’ve taken the trouble to search, you probably know Sean Strickland is still here by doing so.
He Being the sound bites, the hot takes, the controversial jokes. All the things that helped to take him from another average mid-card weight to the title of title known to the world shock champion to the former champion obtaining one more crack. Yes, he’s always going.
During this week’s media day to help promote his revenge match of the average weight title with the Plessis Dricus champion at UFC 312 in Sydney, Strickland participated in his compatriot Khamzat Chimaev, calling him several A “WH * re” for his association with Chechen Chef Ramzan Kadyrov.
Previously, he said in an interview with Daniel Cormier that from Plessis “fights like Ar **** d out of the short bus”.
And a few days before, he answered a fan question about his “least favorite race”. The fact that this question has been asked him even tells you about the public character he cultivated for himself. The fact that he answered it tells you that he is very good with that.
But there is something on this subject this time, it is as if we were barely noticing. Maybe we are used to it now. It may be that, with guys like Bryce Mitchell who rides the absurd-o-meter, Strickland’s stuff seems to be tamed in comparison. Maybe it’s just that on a low-power combat card that competes with the Super Bowl for the attention of the world of sport, it takes much more to stand out.
Anyway, the whole Strickland contract suddenly feels almost – and I sort of hate that – normal. It is as if he was only another UFC fighter now. Another ex-champ trying to obtain a refund in a revenge match of what was a very close title fight but not particularly remarkable the first time.
Part of the problem might be that, at this stage, we know what to expect from a Strickland fight. He will speak a lot about his desire for a bloodbath between modern gladiators, then he will use a strategic and fighting approach in order to gain gradually and carefully.
If you’ve never heard of him, you would think that Strickland was that Robbie Lawler meets the Tasmanian devil. It is only when you see it in action that you realize that it is also likely to enter a wild fight as to vote Democrat.
This style has been very effective for him in recent years. He won a lot of fighting and caused relatively little damage. The downside is that when you count on towers a little at a time, you are vulnerable to the possibility that the judges do not appreciate the nuances of your work as you thought.
It was the difference in Strickland’s first fight with Plessis in January 2024. While Strickland was there to hunt and make his way through each lap, Plessis launched punches as if he came out of the rocks of its rear pockets. His actions seemed to be large and obvious and significant – that strikes landed or not. He left a impression damage, whether or not he did. In a narrow fight, it sometimes makes all the difference. Diego Sanchez has practically built a career.
What you have to ask yourself now is that if Strickland, 33, cannot recover the average weight of Du Plessis? He will be 0-2 against the current champion, with a personal schtick who seems to be vanishing in the background noise. There is nothing like a cage fight with low challenges, but the issues seem particularly high for Strickland at this stage of his career.
If we have learned something from the Colby Covington arc, it could that the act of crop warrior frankly does not really work when you win. Once the losses are increasing like a roadblock, people undress. They move away. Their attention is drawn to another current, by something even more freshly scandalous.
As much as it is a test of his skills, the revenge match on Saturday with Plessis also seems to be a test of the power of Strickland in the consciousness of the fans of the UFC. And it can be a difficult battle to win by decision.
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