Sean Strickland, one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC, touched the middleweight gold after beating Israel Adesanya in 2023. It remains the biggest achievement of his MMA career to this day.
Having started from the bottom with a troubled childhood, Strickland has come a long way to become a superstar. That said, his UFC journey began with a submission victory over Robert McDaniel, a decade ago. Before entering the UFC, ‘Tarzan’ had three submission wins, which saw a digit get added in 2014.
However, Sean Strickland has still won most of his fights via KOs, and then via decisions. That said it comfortably gives away what kind of a fighter ‘Tarzan’ really is.
Is Sean Strickland a Striker?
The answer is yes, Sean Strickland is a striker and not a grappler. It means he seems comfortable fighting on his feet and trading shots rather than taking the fight to the ground. In an active resume of 28 wins and 5 losses, Strickland has earned 11 wins via KOs and 13 via decisions.
Standing at 6’1” with a 76” reach, Sean Strickland can land punches from every angle and has been comfortably troubling top-tier opponents with his striking. Interestingly, Sean Strickland’s fighting style reflected a prominent feature of Floyd Mayweather’s boxing.
On his middleweight title win over Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland lopsidedly dominated the show. His defense was on point, making it hard for ‘Izzy’ to connect. On the contrary, Strickland landed hard shots and beat down Adesanya.
Following the fight, Israel Adesanya revealed how Strickland’s punches felt like ‘hammer fist’. Per, Adesanya, Sean Strickland used the ‘Philly Style’ boxing, which was popularised by Floyd Mayweather. There’s no denying that Sean Strickland is neo the best strikers in the world right now.
How Many Times ‘Tarzan’ Fell Into The Striking Prowess?
Sean Strickland has lost five times in his pro-career till now. All of those defeats have happened in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. However, he has been finished only once, by two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira. ‘Poatan’ knocked Strickland out cold and became the first and only man till now to do so.
It was surprising to see Strickland fall prey to his opponent’s striking ability, Nevertheless, ‘Tarzan’ collaborated with Alex Pereira after the loss as they trained together. While Strickland lost back-to-back against Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier, he returned to the win column with three straight wins, including the 185 lbs title achievement against Israel Adesanya. It remains to be seen whether he can retain the word title for a log period or not.
