UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland names “the best striker” he’s ever sparred

By Harry Kettle - November 22, 2023

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has named a current PFL star as the best striker he’s ever sparred.

Sean Strickland, UFC 293, UFC, Israel Adesanya

As many fans and pundits know, Sean Strickland is a big fan of sparring. In addition to being an incredibly active fighter, he also isn’t afraid to get in there and throw hands in training as much as he possibly can. Now, against all the odds, that has led him down the path of holding championship gold in the UFC.

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Along the way, Sean has gone up against some worthy adversaries both in training at Xtreme Couture and in the Octagon for the UFC. So, when he named PFL title challenger Sadibou Sy as the best striker he’s ever sparred, many were quite intrigued.

Strickland praises Sy

“He (Sy) would be the welterweight champion (in the UFC). Then I’d probably have to fight him for the middleweight belt,” Strickland said. “Sadi is the best striker I’ve ever sparred. Proof is in the pudding, man. We’ve all seen your highlights… Originally when I sparred Sadi, I was like, ‘F*ck, this sucks. Why can’t I hit you, Sadi! This is bullsh*t.’

“I’ll tell you what makes Sadi so good. The f*cking man thinks, dude,” Strickland continued. “When he’s sparring, he just like, he’s calculated, he understands, you know? To be a really great standup artist, a lot of it comes from the mind. If someone gives you an IQ test, what do they test? They test you on reading patterns, predictability. When you’re sparring, all you’re doing is reading patterns and finding out predictability.”

Quotes via MMA News

Will Sadibou Sy claim PFL gold once again on Friday when he battles Magomed Magomedkerimov? What’s the next move for Sean Strickland? Let us know your thoughts, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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