Joe Rogan has shared one element of Sean Strickland’s game that he feels makes him one of the toughest opponents to overcome.
Strickland became a two-time UFC Middleweight Champion when he defeated Khamzat Chimaev in Newark on May 9. The UFC 328 headliner went the distance, and Strickland was awarded the split decision victory. He has now handed Chimaev the first loss of his pro MMA career.
During episode 2,498 of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan said that Strickland’s ability to survive has led to his two UFC title reigns (h/t MMAJunkie).
“I was nut-riding for Strickland the whole time,” Rogan said. “I was like, that guy is the f*cking captain of the deep water. He knows how to go into deep water, man. And he knows how to survive. He can survive.
“And the thing about Khamzat is if he takes you down, he wants to hold you down and just beat on you and not expend a lot of energy, like he did with Dricus (Du Plessis). You can’t do that with Sean. Sean is not going to sit still. He’s very hard to hold down. He’s got super underrated grappling. Super underrated. When you saw he almost threw Khamzat later in the fight, and he did wind up on top multiple times.”
Strickland didn’t walk out of UFC 328 unscathed. In fact, he didn’t even enter the fight at full health. The newly minted 185-pound champion suffered a separated shoulder just four days prior to the fight with Chimaev. Strickland figures to be shelved for a while after revealing the extent of his injury.
In the aftermath of UFC 328, Strickland has called for a title defense against Nassourdine Imavov once he is ready to get back inside the Octagon. Chimaev has been publicly calling for a rematch despite Dana White’s initial claim that “Borz” told him he’s moving up to light heavyweight.
Do you think Sean Strickland will be able to earn a successful title defense this go-around? Let us know in the comments below.