Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland continues to be the recipient of criticism for his latest performance.
Strickland fell to a 1-2 record since winning the gold in August 2023 this past weekend. His memorable title win over Israel Adesanya was quickly followed by the end of his reign courtesy of Dricus Du Plessis 13 months ago, and the South African once again got the better of the polarizing American on Saturday.
The pair ran it back Down Under in Sydney, Australia, headlining the UFC 312 pay-per-view. Strickland didn’t come close to redemption, instead suffering a lopsided decision defeat at the hands of “Stillknocks,” whose punches even resulted in a badly broken nose for the challenger.
During an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, another ex-UFC middleweight champ in Luke Rockhold gave his assessment of Strickland’s display.
Like many in the MMA community, the 40-year-old was not impressed — to say the least…
“If someone breaks your nose, you gotta fight like a f*cking man and sack up,” Rockhold said. “This motherf*cker talks such a big game and then he b*tches out and basically quits in a fight after he breaks his nose.
“When does (Strickland) ever f*cking put his ass on the line and f*cking bite down and really go for it through a whole process of a fight, not just the last 10 seconds of a round? Look at him out there,” Rockhold added.
Strickland has long faced heavy flak for his fight style, which sees a low-aggression approach follow fight weeks that usually involve proclamations of an impending bloody “war.”
The likes of Demetrious Johnson have called on the former champ to adjust his style following two defeats to Du Plessis in his last three fights. Whether or not he heeds that advice remains to be seen.
