Sean Strickland has finally got his wishes fulfilled. After a long wait, Strickland is finally getting a chance to take back his championship belt from Dricus Du Plessis. Becoming the champion, ‘Tarzan’ lost his UFC middleweight belt immediately in his maiden title defense. However, Strickland never looked satisfied with the judges’ decision. And has been waiting for his rematch ever since.
Unfortunately, as Dricus Du Plessis defended his title against Israel Adesanya, Strickland faced heavy backlashes for his fighting style. Fans called him out for depending too much on his jab to win over opponents. And finally, the accusations have been addressed by his coach Eric Nicksick. Speaking with James Lynch of Inside Sports, Nicksick detailed an area where he wanted ‘Tarzan’ to make amends.
“You know, dude, Sean, you gotta be a dog, man. You really have to take the fight to this guy. Just kind of sitting back and jabbing your way through the fight… a lot of judges lose sight of that jab, although it’s effective and it’s scoring. We need to find some other things that are going to help that scoring criteria look better on our part and that’s part of our gameplan,” Nicksick said.
Now then, it is guaranteed that going up against Du Plessis will mean total devastation. In his earlier bouts, the South African fighter has bulldozed his opponents. Meanwhile, while Strickland is looking for ways to beat him, Du Plessis is oozing confidence.
Dricus Du Plessis Downplays Sean Strickland’s Fighting Style
Bad blood is brewing between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. Having successfully defended his title against Israel Adesanya, the Protean is riding high on confidence. In a recent interaction with Fox Sports Australia, Dricus Du Plessis did not seem to be quite intrigued by Strickland’s style of fighting.
“Nothing’s changed, he looked boring like every other fight, walking forward jabbing and teeping, it wasn’t an exciting fight… It wasn’t a bad performance, it was the most normal performance from him ever,” said ‘Stillknocks.’
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Surely, such a comment is not something that ‘Tarzan’ wants to hear. Thus, while working on his tactics ahead of UFC 312, it remains to be seen who ends up winning the big fight.
Also Read: Bellator Champ Backs Sean Strickland To Reclaim UFC Middleweight Gold For Their Gym
