"This extra pound kind of sucks" - Sean Strickland visibly struggles to get through interview after brutal weight cut at UFC 293

Sean Strickland appeared to have struggled making championship weight for the first time in his career at the official UFC 293 weigh-ins yesterday.

'Tarzan' is set to take on Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title in the main event this weekend and will be aiming to cause a massive upset. However, it will be interesting to see if his usually good cardio will be affected by what appears to be a less-than-ideal weight cut.

Sean Strickland was asked to weigh in at 185 pounds, an extra pound less than the non-title middleweight limit. 'Tarzan' weighed in officially at 184.9 pounds, and he noted that cutting the additional pound made a notable difference.

The No.5-ranked contender spoke to UFC analysts Laura Sanko, John Gooden and Daniel Cormier after making weight. Both Sanko and Cormier opted out of asking Sean Strickland a question, who was visibly struggling.

'Tarzan' said:

"Sorry guys, this extra pound kinda sucks. It's a little rough, you guys, that championship weight. The Australian government kind of sucks, but the people here are f***ing stand-up hard d**k guys. Everybody has been f***ing amazing."

Watch the interview below:

Strickland will be hoping to dethrone the only two-time middleweight champion in UFC history this weekend. 'Tarzan' is currently a +240 underdog, and many fans expect Adesanya to successful defend his title.

However, Strickland has a chance to emulate Dricus du Plessis' stunning upset victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. A win over Israel Adesanya would cause massive waves in the middleweight division.

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Laura Sanko thinks Sean Strickland could provide Israel Adesanya with problems at UFC 293

Sean Strickland is set to take on Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 293 this weekend.

Adesanya will be fighting in Australia for the first time since his KO win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. Meanwhile, the fight will mark Strickland's first octagon appearance in the country.

Laura Sanko, who will be making her debut as a UFC pay-per-view commentator this weekend, recently broke down the matchup.

Sanko believes that 'Tarzan' could give the middleweight champion a tougher fight than people expect, noting Strickland's awkward style as something that is difficult to prepare for:

"I think this could be a more competitive fight than a lot of people are giving it credit for. Because I think Sean has a particular style. We often talk about the guys that have really flashy techniques as being hard to emulate in the gym. I would argue that Sean Strickland would be pretty hard to emulate in the gym."

Watch the interview below: