Sean Strickland Makes Bold Statement On Robert Whittaker's UFC 290 Loss

Strickland has some thoughts on Whittaker's recent defeat.

Fernando Quiles Jr. | Jul 26, 2023

Sean Strickland Makes Bold Statement On Robert Whittaker's UFC 290 Loss /

Sean Strickland isn't impressed by the fighting style of Robert Whittaker.

Whittaker recently shared the Octagon with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290 earlier this month. "The Reaper" was hoping to earn a third bout against UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya. The problem is, du Plessis didn't get the memo, as he starched Whittaker for the second-round TKO finish.

Dricus du Plessis has his hand raised after scoring a second-round TKO finish over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. — (via Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)

The TKO loss hasn't been familiar territory for Robert Whittaker since starting his middleweight run. Only Adesanya was able to stop him at 185 pounds prior to du Plessis. Despite this, Sean Strickland feels Whittaker has always been one-dimensional.

During an interview with Helen Yee, Strickland buried the former UFC middleweight titleholder's fighting style.

"Whittaker kind of looked like sh*t, man," Strickland said. "It's kind of weird, I think everybody thought Whittaker kind of looked like sh*t in that fight. Maybe Dricus is that awkward that he made him look like sh*t, but like Whittaker is just this one-trick f*cking pony. Whittaker can fight, but he is a one-trick f*cking pony, and the moment that f*cking trick doesn't land and now it comes down to fighting in the pocket or when it comes to doing anything else besides a karate blitz, he doesn't really have it."

Strickland currently waits to see if he can come to terms with the UFC on potentially fighting for Adesanya's middleweight gold. Dricus du Plessis was expected to be the next title challenger, but he reportedly won't be healed in time for UFC 293 in September.

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Published Jul 26, 2023

FERNANDO QUILES JR.

Fernando has over a decade of combat sports news writing experience. He currently covers MMA, boxing, and pro wrestling. Fernando joined MMA Knockout as the Lead Writer/Editor when it was founded in 2023.