Not much was expected of Sean Strickland in his title bout against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 last year. The then #6 ranked middleweight replaced Dricus Du Plessis, who was expected to face ‘Izzy’ at the card but refused the fight due to a lingering injury.

However, no one – not even Strickland fans – was expecting what actually happened: a total and complete domination of ‘Stylebender’ by ‘Tarzan’ for the full five rounds, leading to one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. And a large part of the credit goes to Strickland’s coach and teammates, who helped him to become the middleweight champion of the UFC.

Strickland’s training regimen helped him beat ‘Izzy’

Sean Strickland is the current UFC middleweight champion and is ranked #7 on the promotion’s pound-for-pound list. The 32-year-old has a unique and unusual style of fighting that can best be described as the MMA version of the ‘Philly Shell’ boxing style, (popularized by Floyd Mayweather).

He trains under coach Eric Nicksick at the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nicksick is also the trainer of notable MMA fighters such as Francis Ngannou, Dan Ige, and Miesha Tate, who are thus stablemates of ‘Tarzan.

Notably, before his Adesanya fight, the American trained with two-division UFC and former Glory champion, Alex Pereira. The latter had defeated Adesanya in their first UFC fight and the training seemed to have helped ‘Tarzan’ beat ‘Izzy’.

Throughout his professional MMA career of 28 wins and 5 losses, the middleweight champion has used his elite, high-volume striking, and toughness to reach the highest levels of the sport. And while Strickland went in a massive underdog against Adesanya and may have surprised him, this will not be the case for his first title defense in Canada this month.

Sean Strickland to take on Du Plessis this month after UFC 296 brawl

The UFC’s first PPV event of 2024 will be headlined by a middleweight title bout between champion Sean Strickland and #1 ranked Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, which has gained increased significance given recent developments. In the pre-fight press conference for UFC 296, the two had a heated exchange after Strickland claimed, in jest, that Du Plessis had a rather intimate relationship with his coach.

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This prompted the South African to promise Strickland that he will make ‘Tarzan’ forget all of the abuse he received at his father’s hands, so badly would he beat the champion. This angered the 32-year-old who admitted ‘DDP’ had touched a nerve. And then the UFC went ahead and seated the two barely one row apart at the event, which, predictably led to a brawl breaking out between them. This is why fans expect fireworks at their January 20 bout in Toronto, Canada. Who do you think will win in the UFC 297 headliner?