Luke Rockhold sizes up “stupid” Sean Strickland ahead of UFC 268

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold sized up his “stupid” opponent Sean Strickland ahead of their upcoming fight at UFC 268.

Rockhold takes on Strickland in an important fight at 185lbs on UFC 268 in November. Strickland has won all four of his fights since moving up to middleweight last year — over Uriah Hall, Krzysztof Jotko, Brendan Allen, and Jack Marshman — while Rockhold is returning to middleweight after several years away from the cage. It is an intriguing matchup between two California natives who are known for their entertaining fights inside the Octagon, as well as some of the things that both men have said outside of the cage.

Speaking to MMAjunkie.com Radio ahead of UFC 268, Rockhold was asked to size up Strickland as an opponent. While Rockhold believes “Tarzan” is a “stupid” person, he also knows that he is a very tough fighter who is confident and who has decent boxing skills.

“As stupid as he looks and as stupid as he sounds, he’s effective. Probably because he’s so stupid. He just comes forward, he’s got confidence in himself, and he doesn’t question it, and that’s dangerous, for sure. I think he’s somewhat one-dimensional, and being able to expose that is key. He’s just tough – tough and confident. That’s a big problem for a lot of people, so you’ve got to take that confidence from him,” Rockhold said.

“You’ve got to put him in positions he’s not comfortable with and finish it. I think he’s average everywhere. He’s hasn’t got a great ground game. He doesn’t have great wrestling. Decent boxing. He doesn’t kick much, but he’s tough. He’s tough, and he’s not going to take no for an answer kind of thing. He doesn’t have quit in him. You’ve got to make him quit.”

Do you agree with the breakdown Luke Rockhold provided about Sean Strickland’s skillset?