Sean Strickland has never been one to mince words. At the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference, he took to the mic in his usual unfiltered style, making some bizarre proclamations, including that the entire card is “just a ploy” to get Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya in the Octagon together.
“If we learned anything about UFC rankings, [they] mean nothing. At the end of the day, it means nothing. He’s the one that knocked out Izzy, so it’s like here’s what you can do: You can have him go and then he’ll eventually fight a wrestler who will take him down and beat him, and then they’ll never get the Izzy shot, or they could be like, ‘Hey, why don’t we have him fight Sean? Sean doesn’t like to wrestle. Maybe if [Pereira] beats him, then we could float him to the top.’
Strickland: UFC 276 Is “Just a Ploy” to Get Pereira a Title Shot
So this is literally purely just a ploy by the UFC, putting him against somebody who likes to strike, to potentially get him an Izzy shot. So, UFC, I applaud you, but I might f****** wrestle.”
Strickland was dripping with confidence, boasting of his striking prowess, buoyed by a six-fight winning streak, and declaring himself every bit Pereira’s equal, if not his superior.
“Here’s the thing, man. Here’s the f****** thing. Let me tell you guys something. There’s not one GLORY f****** kickboxer in any f****** weight class that I couldn’t stand and bang with.
So don’t f****** tell me just because you’re some big f****** Brazilian and you knocked out Izzy 20 years ago that f****** I can’t stand with you. Come on, motherf******. Get out of here.”
Sean Strickland boasts ten knockouts in his 25 MMA career wins, with eleven wins coming via decision. In his last six fights, Strickland has won via TKO twice, with his fights for the last two years seeming more strategic, as Strickland attempted to smother his opponents rather than stand and trade blows. Whether he adopts this new arsenal to take on one of the most fearsome kickboxers on the planet this weekend remains to be seen. In fact, Sean Strickland doesn’t seem sure of his plan for UFC 276, either.
“We’ll find out. I don’t really go in with a game plan. I mean, obviously if I go in there and he starts f****** hurting me, yeah, I’m going to take the coward’s way out and try to wrestle. But hopefully I can stand and bang with this gigantic scary f****** Brazilian.”
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