TJ Dillashaw claims Luke Rockhold 'pieces up' UFC 312 version of Sean Strickland

TJ Dillashaw and Luke Rockhold address how 'gunshy' Sean Strickland looked at UFC 312.

Jeffrey Swinger-Imagn Images

TJ Dillashaw reckons a 40-year-old Luke Rockhold clears a title-contending Sean Strickland.

A past rivalry sometimes revisited in heated headlines, the pair of former middleweight champions never actually shared the Octagon, Rockhold pulling out of their one and only booking at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden in 2021 due to injury.

Strickland and Rockhold went their separate ways after that, Rockhold becoming a free agent in 2023 and Strickland a world champion later that year against Israel Adesanya, the man Rockhold had hoped to fight for his once-held title.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold ;eft the promotion in 2023. / Jeffrey Swinger-Imagn Images

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Now, that title belongs to Dricus du Plessis, the champion absolutely dominating Strickland in their rematch with a high volume of strikes. Strickland suffered a broken nose in Round 4 and was unable to put together much of offense all throughout the fight.

10 minutes left on the table...

Who's leaving #UFC312 with the belt?? pic.twitter.com/mJEp605XTt

— UFC (@ufc) February 9, 2025

'Luke Pieces Him Up,' Dillashaw On Rockhold vs. Strickland

Rockhold might not have been in the UFC for the last 3 years like the rest of the middleweight elite, but Dillashaw likes his chances against this 'gunshy' Strickland.

"The Sean we're watching in this fight, Luke pieces him up," Dillashaw said on the Jaxxon Podcast. "Sean, for whatever reason, was like gunshy. He's a volume fighter and for whatever reason, he's throwing one jab at a time. He's throwing one push kick at a time. He is not putting combos together. He's not feinting, he's not moving his f****** head. He's a robot. He was standing straight up tall and throwing a jab the whole fight."

Sean Strickland found little success in his rematch with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

"I think that Sean was hopefully gonna evolve coming into this fight and I thought he looked worse than the first one."

Rockhold Says Strickland Proved He Wasn't Title Worthy

Strickland found a home for his jabs and teep kicks in his first fight against Dricus du Plessis, his go-to weapons having no effect on a much-prepared and unpredictable striker in du Plessis the second time around.

"Frustrating during the fight to watch that," Rockhold said of Strickland's performance at UFC 312. "He doesn't show up. When you break your nose in a fight, it's the championship fight. And you're talking all that s***, like you're gonna 'go to the death' and you're more worried about your nose than winning the fight and you operate like a 'champion'..."

Luke Rockhold won the UFC middleweight championship in 2015. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

"You thought you were a champion. He said [du Plessis] got lucky. You said you earned it. You proved that you f****** didn't earn it."

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Sean Strickland defeated Paulo Costa, Rockhold's final opponent in the UFC, by decision to insert himself into a title fight with du Plessis, despite Robert Whittaker doing the same a few months prior at UFC 298 and one-upping the American with another win in the summer.

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