Sean Strickland's lack of championship mentality will remove him from future title shots, claims ex-UFC star: "He doesn't have an overdrive"

A former UFC star has questioned Sean Strickland's fighting mentality, following 'Tarzan's' disappointing performance against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312.

In a rematch of their UFC 297 clash, du Plessis and Strickland faced-off in Sydney, Australia last weekend. 'Stillknocks' put the middleweight title that he won from Strickland on the line, with their second bout expected to be an even closer contest than the first.

Du Plessis, however, read a different script as he sought to leave zero question about who the winner may be. After their first encounter had ended in a split-decision win for the South African, Dricus du Plessis left little up for discussion the second time round as he dominated the fight from start to finish, winning every single round on two of the judges' scorecards.

Following the fight and a lackluster Strickland performance that saw him throw and land even less than in their first fight, former UFC star Josh Thomson weighed in.

According to 'The Punk', he believes the fight showcased that Sean Strickland doesn't have the right mentality to regularly challenge at the top of the division as he's unable to find another "gear." He explained:

"Tonight is the first time I've sat there and watched Sean Strickland and I realised he doesn't have an overdrive. He has first and second gear, that's it. There's no three or four. The only time I've ever seen gear three is when he dropped Izzy [Adesanya], jumped on him and tried to get him out of there...There's no three, four, five or six. There's just nothing there. When your corner is telling you, 'you need to win this round and get him out of there', there's no sense of urgency."

Check out Josh Thomson's comments here (9:25):

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Demetrious Johnson pinpoints where Sean Strickland went wrong against Dricus du Plessis

Demetrious Johnson believes Sean Strickland's lack of adaptability was the key factor behind his loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312.

'Mighty Mouse', who was streaming his reaction to the fights live on his YouTube channel, offered his analysis on the main event after it wrapped up. According to Johnson, Strickland's over-reliance on his jab and his Philly shell defense severely limits his potential in MMA as he has become predictable. He explained:

"Sean Strickland has a style where he would not not deviate from it whether he's losing a five-round decision or if he's winning a five-round decision... He's been doing that style from the very beginning in the last four years of his career and he'll do it for the next four years of his career. In order to get better in this sport and mixed martial arts you have to take the time. Swallow your pride, swallow your ego, and put yourself in a position where you're going to force yourself to evolve."

Check out Demetrious Johnson's comments here (11:45):