Ex-UFC star slams critics discrediting Sean Strickland's performance against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312: "Why would you suddenly change it up?"

Sean Strickland has come under fire from many critics in the wake of his UFC 312 performance, but a decorated former UFC veteran does not agree with the criticisms. Strickland fell short for the second time to Dricus du Plessis, with some in the MMA community thinking his pre-fight rhetoric did not match his effort.

Speaking to MMA Fighting's Damon Martin on the latest episode of their show The Fighter vs. The Writer, Matt Brown spoke of those sentiments:

"What I want to know is when did we start listening to what fighters say? Particularly what Sean Strickland says? He's an obvious good fighter, an elite fighter. What he has done has got him to where he's at. Why would you suddenly change it up and why would we expect him to suddenly change that up fifth round or fourth or whatever?"

Check out Matt Brown's quote regarding Strickland in full below:

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Sean Strickland receives negative feedback from former UFC middleweight champion

Not everyone was trying to offer Sean Strickland a certain level of grace the way Brown was. Former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold echoed the mentioned refrain, questioning Strickland's pre-fight sentiments.

While some saw the 33-year-old resetting his broken nose in the middle of the main event as an example of grit and toughness, Rockhold did not see it that way. He mentioned this in a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show and felt that Strickland did not respond well to that moment.

He felt Strickland essentially quit the fight after suffering the nose break. Rockhold and Strickland have some history with one another as the two were supposed to clash at UFC 268. That was until Rockhold had to withdraw from the bout due to injury, but it seems like there is still no love lost between the two.