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UFC 307 takes place Saturday, so it's time to break down the top fights, plus make DFS picks and predictions for the key matchups on the card.
UFC Paris takes place Saturday, so it's time to break down the top fights, plus make DFS picks and predictions for the key matchups on the card.
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Outpaces another opponent
Strickland defeated Paulo Costa via split decision (46-49, 50-45, 49-46) at UFC 302 on Saturday in Newark.
ANALYSIS
Bizzare split decisions are part of the story of this fight card, but the focus here should be on Strickland, who walked his opponent down and threw volume for 25 minutes. "Tarzan" landed over 180 significant strikes in this fight, and while this is probably the least damage he's inflicted against an opponent in some time, it still speaks to his ability to impose his will in the Octagon. Nothing in the UFC is guaranteed, but it's hard to imagine anything else but a title shot is in Strickland's immediate future after he dropped the strap in a closely-contested five-round battle with Dricus Du Plessis in January. It may not always be thrilling, but Strickland has developed a style that makes him very hard to solve at middleweight, and it may just be enough to attain gold once again. He improves to 29-6 in professional MMA due to the victory.
Bizzare split decisions are part of the story of this fight card, but the focus here should be on Strickland, who walked his opponent down and threw volume for 25 minutes. "Tarzan" landed over 180 significant strikes in this fight, and while this is probably the least damage he's inflicted against an opponent in some time, it still speaks to his ability to impose his will in the Octagon. Nothing in the UFC is guaranteed, but it's hard to imagine anything else but a title shot is in Strickland's immediate future after he dropped the strap in a closely-contested five-round battle with Dricus Du Plessis in January. It may not always be thrilling, but Strickland has developed a style that makes him very hard to solve at middleweight, and it may just be enough to attain gold once again. He improves to 29-6 in professional MMA due to the victory.
Five-rounder with Costa on tap
Strickland is scheduled to compete against Paulo Costa in a five-round middleweight fight at UFC 302 in Newark on June 1, per Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie.com.
ANALYSIS
Strickland will need to work his way back up for another fight for the UFC Middleweight Championship. Defeating a fellow top contender in Costa may do just the trick. Strickland has been scheduled for five-round fights in each of his last five bouts, going 3-2 with wins over Nassourdine Imavov, Abusupiyan Magomedov and Israel Adesanya. Including his loss to Du Plessis, the ex-middleweight champion also suffered a decision defeat against Jared Cannonier.
Strickland will need to work his way back up for another fight for the UFC Middleweight Championship. Defeating a fellow top contender in Costa may do just the trick. Strickland has been scheduled for five-round fights in each of his last five bouts, going 3-2 with wins over Nassourdine Imavov, Abusupiyan Magomedov and Israel Adesanya. Including his loss to Du Plessis, the ex-middleweight champion also suffered a decision defeat against Jared Cannonier.
Drops belt in first defense
Strickland lost the UFC Middleweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Dricus Du Plessis via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 47-48) at UFC 297 in Toronto.
ANALYSIS
Strickland shocked the world with a dominant victory over Israel Adesanya last September to win the UFC Middleweight Championship, and he was unable to defend the belt even once. Sean's best round was the first. He worked behind his trademark jab and picked du Plessis apart. His output and effectiveness waned as the bout progressed. Strickland, who has always been a good defensive wrestler, gave up six takedowns here. He didn't absorb virtually any damage while on the mat, but it was a bad visual for the judges. He turned up the pace in Round 5, clearly winning the final round, but two of the three judges felt he lost rounds two through four. It's a fight that truly could have gone either way. While the loss is disappointing, Strickland is still firmly in the title conversation at 185 pounds. Both men will also walk away with $50,000 bonuses after this bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
Strickland shocked the world with a dominant victory over Israel Adesanya last September to win the UFC Middleweight Championship, and he was unable to defend the belt even once. Sean's best round was the first. He worked behind his trademark jab and picked du Plessis apart. His output and effectiveness waned as the bout progressed. Strickland, who has always been a good defensive wrestler, gave up six takedowns here. He didn't absorb virtually any damage while on the mat, but it was a bad visual for the judges. He turned up the pace in Round 5, clearly winning the final round, but two of the three judges felt he lost rounds two through four. It's a fight that truly could have gone either way. While the loss is disappointing, Strickland is still firmly in the title conversation at 185 pounds. Both men will also walk away with $50,000 bonuses after this bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
First defense scheduled
Strickland will defend the UFC Middleweight Championship against Dricus Du Plessis in Toronto at UFC 297 on Jan. 20, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Strickland upset Israel Adesanya to win the UFC Middleweight Championship. The former was waiting for his inaugural title challenger, which first seemed to be determined by the title eliminator between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, which the latter won. Instead, Chimaev will wait behind Du Plessis, who has been waiting for a title fight in his own right after defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.
Strickland upset Israel Adesanya to win the UFC Middleweight Championship. The former was waiting for his inaugural title challenger, which first seemed to be determined by the title eliminator between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, which the latter won. Instead, Chimaev will wait behind Du Plessis, who has been waiting for a title fight in his own right after defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.
Epic effort to win UFC gold
Strickland became the new UFC Middleweight Champion on Saturday, defeating Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.
ANALYSIS
If you thought Strickland was going to change his style of fighting in the biggest bout of his career, you don't know the man. He stuck with what got him here, and the end result was UFC gold and one of the biggest upsets in company history. Simply put, Sean beat Adesanya up from bell-to-bell. In Round 1 he became the first man to knock Izzy down, nearly earning the stoppage. Adesanya regained momentum in Round 2, but Strickland stayed composed and dominated the vast majority of the final 15 minutes. He constantly pushed forward, remained in Izzy's face and fired off counter shots. When Adesanya was slow to pull the trigger, Sean recognized that and went first. There's zero doubt which man landed the more damaging shots for the duration of the bout. Remember, the UFC wanted Dricus Du Plessis in this spot, but he wasn't ready to go. Strickland stepped up and made history as a +500 underdog. He also took home a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts here. The odds may be against the 32-year-old California native holding the belt for any significant length of time in a stacked middleweight division, but that's irrelevant right now. Kudos on a brilliant performance.
If you thought Strickland was going to change his style of fighting in the biggest bout of his career, you don't know the man. He stuck with what got him here, and the end result was UFC gold and one of the biggest upsets in company history. Simply put, Sean beat Adesanya up from bell-to-bell. In Round 1 he became the first man to knock Izzy down, nearly earning the stoppage. Adesanya regained momentum in Round 2, but Strickland stayed composed and dominated the vast majority of the final 15 minutes. He constantly pushed forward, remained in Izzy's face and fired off counter shots. When Adesanya was slow to pull the trigger, Sean recognized that and went first. There's zero doubt which man landed the more damaging shots for the duration of the bout. Remember, the UFC wanted Dricus Du Plessis in this spot, but he wasn't ready to go. Strickland stepped up and made history as a +500 underdog. He also took home a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts here. The odds may be against the 32-year-old California native holding the belt for any significant length of time in a stacked middleweight division, but that's irrelevant right now. Kudos on a brilliant performance.