A top MMA coach thinks Sean Strickland has been wasting his energy in the wrong spots.
Strickland is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. The outspoken 185-pounder stunned Israel Adesanya with a unanimous decision victory to capture the gold back in Sept. 2023. Strickland lost the title when he was defeated by Dricus du Plessis via split decision. Their rematch was far more one-sided as du Plessis dominated the fight.
Has Strickland’s attention been misguided?
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Sean Strickland Wasting Energy on Influencer Beef, Says Din Thomas
Renowned MMA coach and UFC analyst Din Thomas appeared in a video on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel. In the video, Thomas criticized Sean Strickland as he believes the former middleweight champion’s antics outside of the Octagon may be costing him (via MMAJunkie).
“The stories you hear about Sean Strickland from every high-level guy that I know that’s ever worked with him said that he’s the best guy in the room,” Thomas said on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel. “I believe that he could possibly be the best 185-pound fighter in the world right now if he put his energy into actually fighting in the big fights. If he put the same amount of energy that he does on fighting YouTubers and having beef with other people, if he put that energy into fighting the top contenders in the big fights, he would be winning.”
Cormier mentioned an incident where Strickland punched a fighter who taunted him after defeating a teammate. Thomas doesn’t understand why Strickland doesn’t save that energy for his prizefights. The respected coach went as far as to say that Strickland would be the best middleweight in the world if he used his aggression during pivotal matchups under the UFC banner, rather than sparring sessions with YouTubers.
