Video: Unpacking the previously crazy prospect of Sean Strickland, UFC middleweight champion
The thought of Sean Strickland as UFC middleweight champion wasn’t quite unthinkable not long ago, but it was pretty close.
Mired in a two-fight skid, Strickland rebounded earlier this year with wins over Nassourdine Imavov at light heavyweight and Abusupiyan Magomedov back at 185. But he still wasn’t truly in the title mix for then-champion Israel Adesanya until Dricus Du Plessis said he needed more time with an injury.
The door opened for Strickland on about a month’s notice, at least officially, and he took advantage with one of the biggest title upsets in UFC history. Not only did he beat Adesanya, he beat him handily. The champ was roughly an 8-1 favorite going into the fight, but Strickland made things look like those odds should have been reversed.
What did we like about Strickland’s game plan in the fight? And how about all the post-mortems going around? Did Adesanya have a bad night? Did Strickland catch lightning in a bottle? What would happen in a rematch?
This week’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King and Danny Segura break it down with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.