So let's talk Luke Barnatt vs Sean Strickland

Towelie by TKO

The Continental Belt
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Strickland is one of the most promising young prospects in the MW division, if not the most promising. He's fast, accurate, well-rounded, undefeated and finished 11 of 14 fights.

Barnatt is a TUF alum who has looked really good in his last two fights. He destroyed Andrew Craig in a fight where he was a heavy underdog, then finished Mats Nilsson with ease in a fight where he barely got touched.

Strickland has more potential, but Barnatt has lots of power, knows how to use his reach and can test Strickland's chin. This should be a fun fight.
 
If I'm the UFC and I really have plans for a UK expansion, I'm not booking this fight. This is a really dangerous for Barnatt and Strickland has probably already beaten somebody who, quite possibly, is better than Luke is at this point in his development. Risky risky fight.
 
Nilsson hit Barnatt with some decent combos. I got Strickland winning in impressive fashion.
 
Strickland in dominant fashion. He has looked great so far. Barnatt - not so much
 
Strickland in dominant fashion. He has looked great so far. Barnatt - not so much

Barnatt has looked pretty damn good so far I dont know what you're talking about.
 
i wish this fight was getting more love- i for one am really looking forward to it.

barnatt impressed me on tuf, but i was convinced he can hang in the ufc during his fight with andrew craig. he's tenacious and never quits. among his 8 wins are 3 ko's and 3 subs, so he appears well-rounded. plus he has one helluva cool nickname- the bigslow.

ive only seen strickland's fight against bubba mcdaniel, but understand there's a lot of hype surrounding him.

no prediction here- just hoping for a fotn type performance.
 
Idk Sean Strickland at all except he beat bubba McDaniel. But one of my friends mothers is dating a fighter who beat Bubba aswell prior to tuf and he has a terrible record but then again that was years ago.

I hope to see Barnett win but if Strickland wins then I wanna see him go far.

And to the guy who said Barnett hasn't looked great lately, maybe you should watch his fights and not highlights or interviews
 
I got Strickland by propane.

Should be a good one.
 
Don't really understand the matchmaking, but it's a good fight.
 
Strickland in dominant fashion. He has looked great so far. Barnatt - not so much

One of the more brutal TKO's in recent memory. Threw everything at him.

Luke_Barnatt_vs._Mats_Nilsson.gif
 
MW schilt is gonna be the one to stop this hype-train. not derail it permanently, because I think sean is awesome.... but I think luke's physical advantages will wear Strickland down. great matchup, regardless.
 
This is going to be an awesome fight. Strickland is a really good prospect and has a bright future but at this point I think Barnatt beats him.
 
I was high on Strickland after the Bubba win but now that I've watched his earlier fights he's just not that great. He's fairly scrappy but his striking technique is sloppy (not to say "crap"), his movement is limited and his grappling isn't anything extraordinary either. If he was a thirty-something year old you'd be like "hmm, potential top 20". I can easily see him being kept on the outside and mauled by a giant at his current technical level.

Luke on the other hand has made some massive improvement in his striking offense and looks really good there with a proper jab and a full range of strikes. His defense however, as we saw against mats Nilsson when he got rocked, is stiff and slow and the opposite of "composed". If someone can close distance he's in big big trouble and it doesn't seem like he's got the chin to save him either.

So it's a tricky fight. Neither guy isn't quite what they've been made out to be yet (and I'm not one of those idiots who yells "overhyped") and you can see Luke blasting a static and untechnical Sean from the outside just as easily as you can see Sean occasionally getting in close and landing big shots and TDs at a panicky somewhat weak chinned Barnatt. They both have massive holes in their games that the opponent can exploit.


I'm picking Luke though. His flaws aren't as big as Sean's and unless he gets KOed he will dominate much of the striking while Sean will struggle to close distance so continuously working uphill. I wont be particularly impressed by either guy irrespective of who wins though and would like to see them tested against a well rounded (not necessarily top) mixed martial artist who can move his feet. I've got a sneaky suspicion they'll both fall short and have some more work to do before they're ready to compete with any of the top 10 guys.
 
Strickland in dominant fashion. He has looked great so far. Barnatt - not so much

Barnatt has looked pretty amazing. That thrashing he gave Andrew Craig was a helluva sight.
 
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