Sean Strickland’s loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 was a decisive unanimous decision. During the main event, the former champion endured significant damage, including a broken nose, as blood streamed down his face.
Despite the adversity, though, he persevered and refused to quit.
UFC CEO Dana White praised Strickland’s toughness and mental focus after the fight while also sharing an interesting observation about his demeanor inside the octagon.
Sean is usually really good at shutting people down, like Izzy (Adesanya),” White told reporters. “When he fought Izzy, Izzy couldn’t get into a rhythm, and Sean was in his face, pressuring him the whole time. It feels like that’s what Dricus did to him.
“I’ll tell you something fascinating that I noticed tonight for the first time. I don’t know why. We’ll see if you notice this. So, Sean Strickland — the way he acts leading up to fights, right? Normally, when you have people who act the way he does, you see signs of it in a fight. But who is more focused, professional, and solid in a fight than he is? When he gets hurt, there’s no sticking out the tongue, no, ‘No, no, that didn’t hurt me.’ The guy stays focused and keeps coming forward.
There’s never any hint of how he acts outside the octagon when he’s in there. Absolute professional the whole time. It’s actually fascinating. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that with a guy who acts the way he does leading up to fights.
Strickland’s UFC record has taken a downturn since his middleweight title win in September 2023. He is now 1-2 in his last three fights, with both losses coming in title bouts against Du Plessis.
I’ve never seen a guy so solid and professional,” White added. “He gets his nose broken, snaps it back into place, and keeps fighting. He gets hit with some nasty shots, but when he does, he doesn’t shake his head or do the goofy things that guys like Mayorga did. You can go into any combat sport, and you’ve seen it. But nobody is more professional during the fight than this guy is. It’s fascinating.