The Weekly Takedown: Sean Strickland Sees an Opening in the Middleweight Division

Previewing and picking Saturday's UFC Fight Night card, and more details revealed on David Branch's debut at ONE Championship.

Justin Barrasso | Feb 3, 2022

Welcome to The Weekly Takedown, Sports Illustrated’s in-depth look at MMA. Every Thursday, this column will offer insight and information on the most noteworthy stories in the fight world.

There is real opportunity atop the middleweight division.

Reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is a force to be reckoned with, but there is an opening to climb into the top five of the rankings and earn a title shot. Adesanya meets top-ranked Robert Whittaker next week at UFC 271, the same card where No. 3 Jared Cannonier fights No. 4 Derek Brunson. And with Marvin Vettori (No. 2) and Paulo Costa (No. 5) both coming off recent losses against Adesanya, that opens the possibility for either Sean Strickland or Jack Hermansson to jump up into the top five.

“It’s time for some fresh blood,” Strickland said. “That’s me.”

Strickland headlines this Saturday’s Fight Night in a bout against Hermansson, a meeting of the division’s sixth- and seventh-ranked fighters. Riding a five-fight win streak, Strickland last fought in July, defeating Uriah Hall by unanimous decision. If the outspoken controversial fighter can win this bout in a decisive manner, then he will likely only be a win or two away from a title shot.

“A fight against Adesanya, that’s the goal,” said Strickland (24-3). “Unless Cannonier beats him, I think he’ll stay champ.”

UFC MMA Sean Strickland — Sean Strickland :: Trevor MacMillan/USA TODAY Sports

Following the victory against Hall, the next scheduled bout for Strickland had been UFC 268 this past November at Madison Square Garden. But that never took place. His opponent, Luke Rockhold, withdrew due to a back injury.

“It sucks that I had to wait so long to fight, but this is a better fight because Hermansson’s ranked,” Strickland said. “Luke Rockhold’s a has-been, someone trying to stay relevant after his modeling career ended. I knew Luke wasn’t going to make it to that fight. It’s one of those weird things where, if I had to bet my life on it, I would have bet that it wasn’t going to happen. So this fight is better for me.”

Hermansson (22-6) presents a wide array of problems for the aggressive Strickland, especially with his vast submission repertoire.

“He’s tough,” Strickland said. “He fought my buddy Marvin Vettori with a broken orbital. We’re going in there to have a f------ war. I’m going to throw some hands, he’s going to throw some hands, he’s going to try to take me down and tap me out, and I’m going to try to stop it.

“I’m not even that confident. Can you really be that confident when you’re fighting one of the best in the world? I’m just going to go in there and fight hard.”

If Strickland is victorious, a potential next opponent is Vettori.

“Marvin’s a good friend of mine, and we would fight each other, but the way I look at that is, why do we have to?” Strickland asked. “There are so many other guys I could fight.

“Unless the UFC were to throw a lot of money at us, then that’s the one fight I wouldn’t want because of the friendship. I’m also a w---- for money, so I have a dollar amount, and so does Marvin.”

Strickland’s sights are ultimately set on the middleweight title, which runs through Adesanya. Despite Whittaker’s brilliance in the cage, Strickland does not envision a scenario where Whittaker wins the belt at 271.

“Whittaker is the definition of a great mixed martial artist, but Adesanya is a striker that is long, lean, and fast,” Strickland said. “It’s hard to beat him by being an MMA fighter. You’ve got to make it ugly to do that.

“Adesanya, I’ll say this about him, when he fights, you see his brain f------ spinning. He’s a computer collecting data. His brain operates on a different level. When I meet guys like that, it’s time to brawl. So I don’t think Whittaker will beat him.”

Strickland is not the prototypical mixed martial artist, but his unorthodox style has brought him success. Defeating Hall was a chance to show that he could beat a top-tier opponent, particularly in the manner in which he peppered Hall with shots without absorbing much damage in return.

“I stand weird, I fight weird, but it works for me,” Strickland said. “There is a method to my madness with how I stand and hit. A lot of people just see an awkward f------ trying to box, but there is a method to it. When it stops working, that’s when I’ll change some s--- up.”

Saturday stands as the biggest fight in Strickland’s career, and he believes he is up for the test.

“I think I’m better than him,” Strickland said. “He’s going to absorb a lot of f------ damage, and I’m either going to finish or it’s going to be a long, hard fight for him.”

News and notes around the MMA world

On the cusp of entering a very active stretch, here are news and notes around the MMA world:

• David Branch makes his ONE Championship debut on Feb. 25 on the Full Circle card.

Branch (22-7) announced last month that he signed with ONE, and the 40-year- old has amassed a career full of highlights, including runs as WSOF light heavyweight and middleweight champion. He still has a lot to prove in the cage, beginning with his first ONE bout against Leandro Ataides (11-5).

The Full Circle card is headlined by three title fights:

Light heavyweight/middleweight champ Reinier de Ridder defends the middleweight title against Welterweight champ Kiamrian Abbasov
Roman Kryklia puts the light heavyweight kickboxing championship on the line against Murat Aygun
Petchmorakot defends his featherweight Muay Thai championship against Jamal Yusupov

ONE has a loaded card set for Full Circle, including Aung La N Sang returning to action to complete his trilogy vs. Vitaly Bigdash.

• UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is already publicly entertaining the idea of fighting Jon Jones.

Ngannou will be out of action for the foreseeable future as he undergoes surgery to repair a torn MCL and ACL. The timing is fortuitous, as it also provides a lengthy window for Ngannou’s team to come to terms with the UFC on a lucrative new contract. And there is every reason for Ngannou to come back and defend his title if his next opponent is Jones.

Speaking on Bruce Buffer's It’s Time podcast, Ngannou stated, “I think the first thing we have to know is if Jon Jones is going to fight or not because, actually, he finds himself a better battle on Twitter than in the Octagon.”

There is no bigger fight for Ngannou than Jones. He would elevate himself to an entirely new tier if he were to win that bout, which would likely be viewed by a record-breaking number of people on ESPN+.

• Ryan Bader shined last weekend at Bellator 273. Continuing the streak of champions listed as underdogs in their title fights, Bader defeated odds favorite Valentin Moldavsky by unanimous decision to unify the Bellator heavyweight championship.

The next defense for Bader is this May against Cheick Kongo in Paris. They had their first bout in September of 2019, but that came to an abrupt end after an accidental eye poke left Kongo unable to continue. So that no-contest will now have some clarity, and a win would further establish Bader as one of the world’s top heavyweights.

If Bader beats Kongo, he would be free to meet Fedor Emelianenko in his retirement fight. Emelianenko’s last bout is currently scheduled for early July, so it would require a quick turnaround, but he is chomping at the bit for a rematch against Bador.

Bader pulled off a massive TKO win against Emelianenko three years ago. It would be nearly impossible for Bader to defeat Emelianenko in a more impressive fashion than he already did, but a rematch would mean a massive payday and the chance to retire a legend.

• Legacy Fighting Alliance holds a fight card this Friday in Hammond, Ind., which will air on UFC Fight Pass.

Headlined by two exciting bantamweight prospects in Daniel Argueta and Mairon Santos, LFA 123 is a chance for Argueta (6-0) to continue building momentum. He steps into the cage against Santos (12-0) in a bout where someone is destined to taste their first defeat.

The reigning LFA bantamweight champ was Richard Palencia, but he signed with Bellator a month after winning the title in December. This is a pivotal matchup for Argueta and Santos, as both could use this win to make a push to emerge atop the title picture. Even more importantly, the winner here has the chance to be fast-tracked into a major promotion.

The Pick ‘Em Section:

Here are my picks for this weekend’s fights:

UFC Fight Night middleweight bout: Sean Strickland vs. Jack Hermansson

Pick: Sean Strickland

LFA 123 bantamweight main event: Daniel Argueta vs. Mairon Santos

Pick: Daniel Argueta

Middleweight bout: Punahele Soriano vs. Nick Maximov

Pick: Punahele Soriano

Welterweight bout: Shavkat Rakhmanov vs. Carlston Harris

Pick: Shavkat Rakhmanov

Middleweight bout: Tresean Gore vs. Bryan Battle

Pick: Tresean Gore