For many MMA fighters and fans the world over, Sean Strickland‘s performance at UFC 312 this weekend left much to be desired, including Demetrious Johnson. Just this past Saturday night, Strickland went into Sydney, Australia to try for the UFC Middleweight Championship in the UFC 312 main event.
In short, this fight was one-way traffic for titleholder Dricus Du Plessis, who easily met the challenge that Strickland presented to him, scoring a unanimous decision victory, (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) after 25 minutes of action to defend the belt. During the aftermath of the fight, Demetrious Johnson, who won championships in both the UFC and ONE Championship, was unsurprised by Strickland’s efforts in the famed Octagon.
Following UFC 312 this weekend, Johnson aired his opinions on YouTube in a Sunday video. The one nicknamed “Mighty Mouse” mentioned that Sean Strickland’s gameplan needs to be altered ahead of his next fight, whenever it might be.
Demetrious Johnson Clears Air on Stance Regarding Sean Strickland
“I know you guys always say that I’m a Sean Strickland hater, but I am not,” Demetrious Johnson began in his video. “I basically call it how I see it. Sean Strickland has a style where he would not deviate from it. Whether he’s losing a five-round decision, or if he’s winning a five-round decision, he will not deviate from that ‘Philly Shell’ style with that beautiful jab he has, along with a 1-1-2 and a 1-1-wide-4.”
Later on, Demetrious Johnson made it clear as to what Strickland’s next moves should be:
“In order to get better in this sport,” he explained, “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 and get better and learn new tools. That’s the only way you’re going to become a better fighter in this game.”
Demetrious Johnson Studies the Film on Monday
Showing still frames from the fight, Johnson outlined the portions of Du Plessis’ gameplan that worked for him during the UFC 312 main event this past Saturday night.
“DDP was very, very dynamic in his strikes,” Demetrious Johnson analyzed. “Once again, the kicks, the punch, the heat-seeking back kick, and those were landing. That [back kick] landed perfectly on the floating rib. DDP was doing very well against Sean Strickland for what Sean Strickland was able to allow happen. We talked about it on the MightyCast, how do you fight someone who prioritizes defense over offense?”
“If somebody is completely defending everything you do and not really opening up and exposing himself,” he mentioned, “then, you have to make what he gives you work. You heard it multiple times from Sean Strickland’s corner: ‘Come on, I need more output. I need more from you’. So, DDP was doing his best to bring something out of Sean Strickland, bring out a fight, while also trying to minimize his damage.”
Demetrious Johnson Was Right on the Money
Video analysis of the fight aside, the comments made by Demetrious Johnson this past weekend in the aftermath of UFC 312 were most accurate. Sometimes, when a fighter locks horns with his or her adversary in the cage, said fighter can run into a buzzsaw.
This is exactly what happened to Sean Strickland on Saturday night in the second pay-per-view main event of the year. Over the next few weeks and months, Strickland has to go back to the basics by locking himself in a room.
Once he’s there, Sean Strickland has to watch the tape of his fight as often as possible, slowing down the footage every so often to see just what went wrong, adding different wrinkles to his gameplan so that he can overcome this