Sean had the tools to win

[Pain4Pain]

Sean had a clear hand speed advantage and was landing more jabs on Dricus throughout the fight. He looked a lot less fatigued than Dricus too but seemed comfortable fighting the same way he did last time, whereas Dricus tailored his approach and kept Sean guessing.

 

[Dyson350]

No, Sean only wins when he can apply pressure to gas people out. He cant win if his opponent has a gas tank and knows how to defend against a jab and occasionaly kick. His fighting style is boring and sucks

 

[188912345]

You don't see the connection between him being less fatigued than Dricus, and him throwing lighter strikes and less kicks?

His defense is so good, because he's so risk-averse. His cardio is so good, because he is mostly jabbing. No headkicks, not many explosive movements.

If he's more aggressive, his defense suffers. If he fights with more intensity, his cardio suffers.

At this point, I think it's unlikely that he will change his approach. It's so ingrained in his style.

 

[HHJ]

Dricus improved. Sean stayed the same. So how does that mean sean had the tools to win? What tools are these?

 

[Thepaintbucket]

Sean only has one level to his game. Gas pedal broken and maxed out jab character stat

 

[Fergelmince]

No, Sean only wins when he can apply pressure to gas people out. He cant win if his opponent has a gas tank and knows how to defend against a jab and occasionaly kick. His fighting style is boring and sucks

Du Plessis was sucking wind big time before he broke Strickland's nose. Du Plessis is a legit badass and has one of the best MW resumes ever now so props to him, but I think Strickland did have staph and just couldn't physically bring his A game tonight.

 

[Kertol]

You don't see the connection between him being less fatigued than Dricus, and him throwing lighter strikes and less kicks?

His defense is so good, because he's so risk-averse. His cardio is so good, because he is mostly jabbing. No headkicks, not many explosive movements.

If he's more aggressive, his defense suffers. If he fights with more intensity, his cardio suffers.

At this point, I think it's unlikely that he will change his approach. It's so ingrained in his style.

Against Costa he did head kick

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

dricus beat him 50-45 and only shot 1 takedown, even though he showed that he could shoot 10+ takedowns and take sean down multiple times in the first fight. Dricus is just better everywhere other than jabbing

 

[MisfitsBR]

I'm a biggest Strickland's fan but... cut him... lol

Maybe he is afraid to get knocked out after the Pereira's fight

Maybe he just want the paychecks and is looking for longevity

Idk

Maybe his fights should be 1 round with no time limit, so the opponent would be more urgent to finish and press Sean and Sean with his style just surviving and sparring until the other get tired

But I think Strickland should hit the gym, idk if it's because of Dricus's looks but maybe Sean could get stronger and get more KO power

 

[marvinparsons]

You don't see the connection between him being less fatigued than Dricus, and him throwing lighter strikes and less kicks?

His defense is so good, because he's so risk-averse. His cardio is so good, because he is mostly jabbing. No headkicks, not many explosive movements.

If he's more aggressive, his defense suffers. If he fights with more intensity, his cardio suffers.

At this point, I think it's unlikely that he will change his approach. It's so ingrained in his style.

He's very similar to Nate Diaz in the striking department in that they are fairly limited, but apply pressure with a style that doesnt tire them out, but can tire an undisciplined opponent. So they can beat better fighters that fight stupidly.

I don't see Strickland changing at this point, but he needs to. He actually has decent hand speed and power, he just never uses it. If his usual style isn't working he needs to pivot to start countering and to vary his offensive output.

 

[Arm Barbarian]

That's what makes him even more frustrating to watch as a fan.

He has the skills to be great, but literally does the barest minimum and rarely steps on the gas until the last ten seconds of the fight.

 

[PaddyO'malley]

bro had all di tools but him nuh charge dem batteries

 

[HHJ]

I'm a biggest Strickland's fan

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

I do not at all think we saw the same fight. Strickland looked like Nick Diaz in.... any of his fights in the last decade. He never got out of 1st gear, looked tired and hesitant, and it's frankly a testament to his chin that he didn't get KTFO because surviving was the only positive thing he did tonight.

I don't at all think DDP is some unbeatable world beater but wow Sean looked absolutely terrible in this fight IMHO. If Strickland had the tools to win, they didn't make it through customs

 

[MisfitsBR]

broken english got broke lol

I'm a big fan lol

 

[Bork Neslar]

He lacked urgency. Maybe the staph in his arm weakened him.

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

He lacks the ability to make someone pay when missing its his biggest down fall. Great defence bur no ability to counter

 

[volcom5]

He’s just out of his prime, only reason he loss.

A in prime Strickland would’ve 50-45 Dricus.

 

[CPH]

He lacks the ability to make someone pay when missing its his biggest down fall. Great defence bur no ability to counter

He does counter other people's boxing well, and coutered DuPlessis well several times in this fight.

DuPlessis doesn't come to box though, so for someone with Sean's skillset, he is a big bag of problems. He is constantly in and back out to kicking range, throwing a lot of different techniques.

I don't think much of Dricus as a kickboxer, but the one thing I really like him doing in mma is varying the kick target with consistency. Through all 5 rounds, he was throwing lows, mids and highs, stomping and spinning. As good as he is checking kicks and seeing things in general, Sean was stuggling to adjust and establish his own rhythm. Strickland is a rhythm fighter and here he was fighting an extremely awkward rhythm breaker.

 

[World eater]

Strickland had the tools to win. Too bad he left them in the gym back home.