Sean Strickland is in the news again… This time, talking in an interview with the Kairouz Bros, the former UFC middleweight champion claimed that he felt pressured into taking the rematch with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312, a rematch for the belt that the South African beat Strickland for previously.
Sean Strickland claimed that despite the fact that he ‘broke’ his shoulder, the UFC insisted that he took the bout, which ultimately led to a 0-2 record against du Plessis. Stickland stated:
“Before the Dricus fight, I was f*cking riding with Axell Hodges (a motocross athlete) and I broke my shoulder”, claims the former middleweight champ. “So I was in Colombia getting stem cells on my shoulder and they hit me up for the fight and the thing with the UFC, you don’t say no. They are pimps. You don’t say no the masters. So I was kind of backed up into a corner taking that fight.
So taking this time off, letting my body heal has been amazing. This shoulder feels f*cking great. I do miss fighting and I miss performing, but it’s been nice to be a fat, lazy, piece of sh*t for a while”.
Strickland hasn’t competed since his loss to du Plessis and has been suspended from action following an attack on a fighter taking on his teammate at a Tuff-N-Uff event. He is, however, scheduled to meet the in-form Anthony Hernandez in the main event of a February fight night card in Texas.
Sean Strickland’s Comments Could Cause Future Issues
If what Sean Strickland has said is true, that he was injured and forced into the rematch with du Plessis, it flags a huge issue. Aside from the obvious, the promotion forcing a fighter to compete while injured, risking potential further injury, it also brings into question the legitimacy of the pre-fight medical tests. How, if Strickland was so injured that he had to have stem cell treatment, was he able to pass the tests required to compete?
Not only this, but there’s the potential that, as a hampered fighter, not only could the American have gotten hurt in the octagon, but the UFC’s insistence on him fighting has cost him millions of dollars. If he’d have fought fit and healthy, there’s a chance that he could have won the rematch, reinstating him as champion and, of course, being paid more in future fights.
If Strickland was injured, it didn’t seem to hamper him (visually) on fight night. He still had his awkward, herky-jerky style, winged punches from odd angles and threw shots that looked like they were never going to trouble the champion.
On the night, he attempted 263 strikes, which is more than he attempted against Israel Adesanya when he won the belt, however, it was significantly less than he attempted against du Plessis in their first fight and also against Paulo Costa when the two fought in between Sean Strickland’s two du Plessis fights. So maybe he was hampered slightly.
A bold claim from Strickland, however, everything the American says is bold and has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
