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Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland got a surprising defense from a former fan favorite after his head-scratching performance at UFC 312.
Sean Strickland fell to 0-2 against UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis after a lopsided defeat at UFC 312 last weekend in Sydney. While Strickland had some positive moments early on in the fight, he struggled to put out a consistent activity level, resulting in du Plessis getting the nod on all three judges’ scorecards decisively.
After Strickland’s second loss to du Plessis, many of his detractors were out in full force criticizing his performance after promising a slugfest ahead of UFC 312. One of which was UFC analyst Din Thomas, who went as far as to say he ‘felt cheated’ by Strickland’s showing after his pre-event promises.
Amidst the aftermath of UFC 312, a former UFC star defended Strickland’s performance, questioning critics of his cautious style inside the Octagon.
Matt Brown defends Sean Strickland amidst post-UFC 312 criticism
During a recent episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Matt Brown weighed in on the hate aimed at Strickland after UFC 312.
“A lot of people are dogging Sean for not ‘fighting to the death’ or going to war or whatever,” Brown said of Strickland. “What I want to know is when did we start listening to what fighters say? Particularly what Sean Strickland says?
“He’s an obviously good fighter, an elite fighter. What he has done has got him to where he’s at. Why would you suddenly change it up and why would we expect him to suddenly change that up in the fifth round or fourth or whatever? This is what he does. This is who he is.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Brown went on to propose a possible reason for the harsh criticism of Strickland’s style.
“We know what he’s going to do when he goes in there and fights,” Brown continued. “It’s a safe style and it’s a good style to win fights on decisions. Again, this is what the UFC has done — I’ve talked about this many times — what they have done better than any sport in history is they have magnified the personalities of those competing. We totally buy into this and we love it. That’s what the UFC markets.”
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Sean Strickland is in a peculiar position in the middleweight title picture
After suffering two title losses to du Plessis over his last three fights, Strickland is firmly on the outside of the title mix, unless a new titleholder takes the throne. Undefeated UFC middleweight Khamzat Chimaev is expected to get the next title shot after finishing Robert Whittaker at UFC 308.
Strickland earned the rematch with du Plessis after defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 302 last year. In his lone middleweight title defense, Strickland fell to du Plessis by split decision in their first fight at UFC 297.
Du Plessis wants to see Strickland run it back with another former rival for his return fight after UFC 312. After suffering a broken nose at UFC 312, it’s uncertain when Strickland will return to the Octagon.
In the meantime, Strickland continues to feel the heat after his sluggish performance at UFC 312, but Brown believes the criticism is undeserved.
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