Rivalries: Sean Strickland

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Sean Strickland spent much of his career thriving under the radar. Those days appear to be over.

“Tarzan” will do battle with Jack Hermansson in the UFC Fight Night 200 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as the two men jockey for position in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division. Strickland, 30, enters the Octagon on the strength of a five-fight winning streak. He last appeared at UFC on ESPN 28, where he laid claim to a five-round unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 finalist Uriah Hall in their July 31 main event.

As Strickland makes final preparations for his Top 10 showdown with Hermansson, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Head and leg kicks intermingled with heavy power punches carried the American Top Team rep to a unanimous decision over Strickland in a UFC Fight Night 61 welterweight feature on Feb. 22, 2015 at Gigantinho Gymnasium in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Ponzinibbio swept the scorecards with 30-27 marks across the board. Strickland worked behind a stinging left jab that left the Argentine with a bloody nose and sat him down twice. Still, it was not enough. Ponzinibbio attacked the former King of the Cage champion’s lead leg with repeated kicks and delivered punishing blows to the head, with kicks and punches. The previously unbeaten Strickland executed takedowns in the first and third rounds but failed to bottle up his counterpart on the ground. On the feet, he spent far too much time fighting with his back to the fence—a routine that proved costly once the decision was read.

Tom Breese

Strickland took another step forward in his development at 170 pounds and eked out a split decision over the Tristar Gym prospect in a UFC 199 welterweight prelim on June 4, 2016 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards: Jeff Mullen and Wade Vierra for Strickland, Michael Bell for Breese. Neither man effectively separated himself from the other. Breese leaned on kicks and counterpunches but struggled with output. Strickland overcame a slow start and picked up his pace in the second round, where his stinging jab and forward movement became more and more problematic for the Englishman. He seemed to salt away the decision late in Round 3, as he popped Breese with a sneaky right hand, drove him to the canvas and swarmed with punches.

Kamaru Usman

Takedowns, damaging ground-and-pound and aggressive standup carried “The Ultimate Fighter 21” winner to a one-sided unanimous decision over Strickland as part of the UFC 210 undercard on April 8, 2017 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Usman carried all three scorecards: 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26. Strickland failed to establish a foothold in the fight. Usman scrambled into top position after a takedown in the first round, set up shop inside guard and opened a cut near the Californian’s left eye with an elbow strike. Strickland’s situation did not improve. Usman dropped him with a clean right hand in the second and followed with hammerfists for a potential finish. Strickland survived, only to absorb more punishment. Usman struck for another takedown 90 seconds into Round 3, got busy with hammerfists and cruised to the decision.

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

The former Jungle Fight champion cut down Strickland with a sensational spinning wheel kick and follow-up punches in the first round of their UFC 224 welterweight prelim on May 12, 2018 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Zaleski dos Santos brought it to a close 3:12 into Round 1. Neither man did much prior to the fight-ending sequence. Dos Santos planted the well-disguised kick behind the American’s ear, trailed him to the canvas and unleashed on his compromised counterpart. Strickland did what he could to survive but ultimately succumbed to a barrage of punches and hammerfists, as the Millennia MMA product was finished for the first time in his 22-fight career.

Brendan Allen

Strickland wiped out the onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 182 catchweight clash on Nov. 14, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Allen checked out 92 seconds into Round 2, suffering his first defeat in nearly three years. Strickland lit up the Roufusport standout with a sharp jab and crisp two-punch combinations, all while mixing in a takedown in the first round and a few front kicks to the face. Allen zeroed in on the lower leg with kicks early in Round 2—he appeared to have the Californian in some distress—but paid the price for porous striking defense. Strickland staggered him with a chopping right hand, dropped him to his knees with a left hook and followed with unabated rights to the head that forced referee Herb Dean to act.