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Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has been facing considerable criticism from certain sections of the MMA community for his performance in his rematch against Dricus du Plessis. Despite him going the five-round distance with du Plessis in a grueling fight at UFC 312 this past Saturday, some critics argued that Strickland could've done more.
A few have even gone as far as accusing him of being a paper champion -- alleging that despite his reign as the 185-pound kingpin, he wasn't a true champion. This is an accusation that he's faced from the moment he first won UFC gold against Israel Adesanya, and it's continued well after his brief title reign ended.
Today, we'll take a closer look at this particular narrative about Strickland, which some fans believe to be true.
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#5. Sean Strickland's ability to finish fights
Sean Strickland's professional MMA record currently stands at 29 victories and 7 defeats. Of those wins, 11 have come via KO/TKO, four via submission, and 14 via decision. A major criticism against Strickland has been that he tends to coast in his fights, even when he's dominating.
Strickland won the UFC middleweight title by defeating former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision in September 2023. His first title defense came against Dricus du Plessis in January 2024, wherein du Plessis dethroned Strickland via split decision.
After the American's 2024 defeat against du Plessis, UFC commentator and former MMA fighter Laura Sanko indicated that Strickland's penchant for cruising in his fights, even when he could step on the gas and finish his foes, often costs him on the judges' scorecards. Sanko underlined that it's what cost Strickland against du Plessis too.
On the contrary, there's the argument that Strickland boasts exceptional defense, in the striking and grappling realms. His supporters often cite his defense as a reason behind some of his fights playing out as a sort of stalemate and ending in closely-contested decision verdicts. Either way, one can't deny that Strickland's finishing rate isn't exactly the best, especially against elite opposition.
#4. Timing of Sean Strickland's biggest MMA win
The consensus is that the biggest victory on Sean Strickland's professional MMA record is his win against combat sports megastar Israel Adesanya. Strickland pulled off, what many believe, is one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history -- beating Adesanya via unanimous decision in September 2023.
Strickland thereby ended 'Izzy's' second UFC middleweight title reign. He soon earned praise for being one of the select few fighters who'd beaten the all-time-great Adesanya.
Alternatively, some fans and experts deemed it a fluke. Adesanya himself indicated that he wasn't at his best in that fight, and it was more of a case of him not performing well than Strickland being good enough to beat him.
Intriguingly, a few others pointed out that Strickland's points victory over Adesanya came in the aftermath of the Nigeria-born Kiwi's grueling two-fight MMA series against the fearsome Alex 'Poatan' Pereira. Adesanya was knocked out by Pereira in November 2022 and knocked him out in April 2023. Both fights saw Adesanya and Pereira inflict considerable damage on one another.
In addition, Adesanya has been in many other brutal fights over the course of his long and storied kickboxing and MMA careers. The point of significance in regard to Strickland's win is that many argue that the version of Adesanya that he fought was one that had been hurt by the wars against Pereira and wasn't a prime Adesanya, so to speak.
#3. Sean Strickland's approach toward UFC gold
One of the biggest criticisms that has plagued Sean Strickland over the years is that he tends to contradict himself one too many times. On one hand, Strickland definitively asserted that he doesn't really care about being a UFC champion, that he couldn't possibly care less about any world title. On the other hand, he consistently campaigned for a title rematch against Dricus du Plessis.
Strickland was crowned as the UFC middleweight champion after his win over Israel Adesanya in September 2023. However, he lost the belt in his very next fight, dropping it in a split decision defeat against Dricus du Plessis in January 2024.
Again, Strickland's approach toward UFC gold remained confusing and self-contradictory. He'd often imply that he didn't care about reclaiming the title whilst also relentlessly calling out the "Dutchman" -- a label he beratingly uses to refer to South Africa's du Plessis.
All in all, many of his detractors have argued that his approach toward the UFC world championship wasn't befitting of a true champion. Some even feel that his lack of championship mentality could prevent him from ever becoming champion again.
Watch UFC fighter-turned-analyst Josh Thomson discuss the same below (9:25):
#2. Sean Strickland's brief title reign and perception
Sean Strickland isn't the only champion in UFC history who had a relatively brief reign; far from it! However, what stood out about Strickland, in many people's eyes, was that his brief reign was accompanied by a major looming threat that his reign would surely end at any top-10 fighter's hands.
Such was the public perception of Strickland during his 132-day reign as the UFC middleweight kingpin. It wasn't due to the American fighter's lack of skill or will, but it was more owing to the general consensus that Strickland had somehow managed to claim the 185-pound throne despite not being the division's best fighter at that point in time.
In simple terms, has was viewed as a skilled fighter, but not the best fighter, in the middleweight division.
Well, his supporters would argue that his short title reign and the public perception of his standing as a champion notwithstanding, no one can change the fact that he did indeed hold the UFC middleweight title.
That's true, but what's also true is that fighters like his former training partner Khamzat Chimaev, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whitaker, Dricus du Plessis, and even Israel Adesanya (who lost to Strickland!) were considered to be far better fighters than Strickland even when he was the champion. Also, his reign ended with zero successful title defenses.
#1. Coming up short against most elite opponents
Sean Strickland, like many other professional combat sportspersons, has had his fair share of defeats over the years. He lost to fighters like Santiago Ponzinibbio, Kamaru Usman (who eventually became a UFC welterweight champion), and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at welterweight.
At middleweight, Strickland was beaten by fighters like Alex Pereira, Jared Cannonier, and Dricus du Plessis. While he has beaten elite opponents like Israel Adesanya and Nassourdine Imavov (both of whom he outpointed), Strickland has been known to mostly come up short when up against those who -- at the point in time he fights them -- are considered elite fighters.
All things aside, one can't deny that Strickland is a skilled fighter. Nevertheless, one could also make a strong case that the criticism against his standing as a true champion is indeed valid.
