UFC Analyst Din Thomas Shares His Harsh Take on Sean Strickland’s Fight Style
Last night at UFC 312 South African Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis retained his championship belt, beating Sean Strickland by unanimous decision. Du Plessis won every round on two of the three scorecards (50-45, 50-45, 49-46), in a dominant striking showcase.
Despite promising fans that he’d stray from his vintage jab and teep-heavy fight style, Strickland did not deliver on the promise. Although finding success with this style in the past Du Plessis had the American Strickland sussed out.
Parrying Sean’s relentless jab and overloading the American with a variety of kicks thrown from both stances, Dricus overwhelmed Strickland. In the fourth round, a perfect right hand shattered the nose of Strickland, putting him on the back foot.
The bloodied Strickland survived till the end but never got going as he struggled to work out the awkward and marauding South African. Critics online have laughed at the contrast between Seans pre-fight promotional talk and his passive in octagon style.
After another performance unaligned with his pre-fight promised brutality, UFC analyst Din Thomas criticised Sean Strickland.
Din Thomas Belittles Stricklands Fight Style
Former UFC fighter, MMA coach and ESPN analyst Din Thomas has a keen eye for the sport. His perspective on Strickland is not positive after UFC 312 claiming that Sean is “not who he says he is”:
“We just have to admit it now – we have to admit it: Sean Strickland is not who he says he is,” Thomas said on the UFC 312 post-fight show. “He’s not who he says he is. We want him to be something. He wants to be something. But he’s not that guy, he’s not the guy who’s going to go to the death. (He says), ‘To the death,’ he didn’t go to the death. He didn’t even go deep. I’m not saying he’s not a great fighter. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to be where he’s at. But he’s not who he says he is. We’ve got to admit that.”
Thomas didn’t stop there adding that he feels “cheated” by Strickland:
“I know I’m hard on Sean Strickland I know it but it’s because I’m cheated, I feel cheated by (Strickland). I hear about these gym stories, these wars that you get into, I hear about how great you are and then you go in these fights, these high-level fights and you give us that. You cheat us.”
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