"There is very little to his game" - Dan Hardy brutally lays into Sean Strickland's 'street fighter' mentality ahead of UFC 293

Dan Hardy believes Sean Strickland is destined to lose his upcoming middleweight tile bout against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.

The middleweights are set to collide on September 10 in the pay-per-view main event, which takes place at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The bout marks Adesanya's first title defence since he reclaimed the belt, whereas 'Tarzan' is fighting for UFC gold for the first time.

Ahead of their clash, fighters and fans have been offering their two cents about Strickland's chances against Adesanya. The general consesus is that whilst Strickland is a gritty and unorthodox fighter, he doesn't possess the correct mentality or have a broad enough skillset to cause problems for the champion.

Recently, former UFC fighter Dan Hardy doubled down on that stance during the latest episode of his The War Room podcast. 'The Outlaw' stated that whilst he's a fan of Sean Strickland and what he brings to the octagon, he doesn't believe he is close to being ready to become a champion:

"He's [Sean Strickland] almost the antithesis of martial arts. He's like a modern day representation of Tank Abbott energy. Abbott could wrestle and he was a good athlete, but he was a street fighter...Sean Strickland brings that energy, a more modern style though of course."

He added:

"Adesanya should win every time...I'm not intending of being insulting but there is very little to his [Strickland's] game. No matter how effective he is with it."

Catch Hardy's comments here (5:20):

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Israel Adesanya says Sean Strickland will have learnt from his KO loss to Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya isn't expecting a boxing match against Sean Strickland when the pair meet inside the octagon at UFC 293.

'Tarzan' is infamously remembered for his stunning KO loss to Alex Pereira in July last year. The middleweight contender opted to try and stand with the Brazilian but paid the price as he was laid out on the canvas inside the first round.

Adesanya isn't expecting Strickland to be so cavalier during their matchup. In an interview with Aaron Bronsteter, 'The Last Stylebender' explained that he's prepared to face a Strickland who will have learned from his mistakes. He said:

"He's got smart coaches, and they'll definitely beat it into him. I know they've been talking about it, he's like, 'What? Crotch-sniff? I'm gonna box!' Do you really think he's gonna box with me? The Pereira fight I called it. I said, 'Focus on your job 'cause he's gonna knock you out.' What did he do? He knocked him out."

Catch Izzy's comments here (4:30):