Daniel Cormier liked what he saw in Sean Strickland’s UFC Houston main event win.
Strickland put on a clinic against Anthony Hernandez on Saturday en route to a third-round knockout victory, then called for a fight with reigning UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. The unbeaten Chimaev claimed the title this past August with a lopsided decision win over Dricus du Plessis, continuing a UFC run that has rarely seen him in significant danger.
Based on Cormier’s breakdown of Strickland’s latest win, he thinks the former champion could be Chimaev’s stiffest test yet.
“He calls out Khamzat Chimaev, he starts talking,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Those guys have got a really big beef between the two of them right now because I just saw a video recently about Khamzat Chimaev talking about him and Sean sparring a lot, that’s why Sean wants to talk and fight because he says Sean talks because he knows that he got the better of him. Strickland said, ‘I want the fight.’ I love that.
“Now, can Sean defend Khamzat to the point that he doesn’t get ridden out and taken down and controlled for 25 minutes? I don’t know that. But I’ll tell you one thing that I do know that if that guy that showed up tonight shows up in that fight, it will be much more difficult a fight for the great Khamzat Chimaev. Why? Because even Israel Adesanya at the peak of his powers struggled with that version of Sean Strickland.”
Strickland won the UFC middleweight title in 2023 with a shocking upset of Israel Adesanya. He failed to defend the belt, dropping it to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297, and then fell short in a rematch at UFC 312, with du Plessis winning a more convincing decision the second time around.
The lackluster performance drew public criticism from Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick, though the two later made peace and Nicksick continues to corner Strickland. Cormier didn’t see any disconnect between the fighter and his team at UFC Houston and he believes that bodes well for Strickland if he ends up booking another championship opportunity.
“The Dricus du Plessis fight, it didn’t seem like Sean was locked all the way in,” Cormier said. “He seemed a little messed up and it showed. It showed in his body language, his posture, his lack of confidence. It showed in his coach getting frustrated. There were a number of reasons why he just didn’t look the same. But tonight, he looked the same. He looked like the guy that became the world champion.”
What Cormier liked specifically about Strickland’s performance is that he saw the presence of skills and techniques that are essential to combatting Chimaev’s onslaught of wrestling and pressure. It’s not an apples to apples comparison, but Hernandez is also known for overwhelming his foes and breaking them down over five rounds, something he failed to do against Strickland.
On top of all that, Strickland scored his first finish since 2023, a result that has Cormier convinced Strickland is back in top form.
“If we know anything, when Sean Strickland is at his best, he can fight behind the jab,” Cormier said. “When he fought Israel Adesanya, which to date is his greatest performance of his career, that jab was popping all night long. And tonight, it felt like that was the same thing that was happening to Anthony Hernandez. Hernandez couldn’t really figure out the jab of Sean Strickland and because he couldn’t figure out the jab, Strickland was able to dictate and control the fight a little bit. Second round, he landed a beautiful shot that hurt Fluffy, swarmed him, and got the finish.
“Now why is that important? Fluffy Hernandez is universally praised for his wrestling, his cardio, his boxing, his toughness, and his chin. When a guy has a great chin—and we have seen many, many over the history of the game—you can’t put him down. You can’t knock him out, you can’t hurt them with punches to the head. What do you do? You got to the body. Because Anthony Hernandez pressures so much, he puts himself in the range for knees, especially if you have the ability to knee going backwards or knee whenever a guy’s pressing into you. That’s exactly what Sean did. Sean hit him with a knee and for the first time in years I saw Anthony Hernandez retreat because he was hurt. … And Strickland not only hurt him, he went and he got the finish.”
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Business. Dana White gives his take on his buddy Rousey coming back for a fight—and not with UFC.
Draw? Paddy Pimblett has a surprising take on his recent loss to Justin Gaethje.
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Onward. Former UFC heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida has signed with a new promotion.
Fight. Eduarda Moura opens up on mental health battle.
UFC Houston post-fight show.
Jed Meshew checks in with the Submission Radio crew.
On To the Next One. Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee debate whether Sean Strickland’s big UFC Houston lines him up for a fight with Khamzat Chimaev, and what to do with the rest of Saturday’s big winners.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Pretty sure this one is still happening, but uhhhhhhh
Renato Moicano (20-7-1) vs. Chris Duncan (15-2); UFC Vegas 115, April 4
Joshua Van (16-2) vs. Tatsuro Taira (18-1); UFC 327, April 11
Gilbert Burns (22-9) vs. Mike Malott (13-2-1); UFC Winnipeg, April 18
Sean Brady (18-2) vs. Joaquin Buckley (21-7); UFC Vegas 116, April 25
Overall, not a bad UFC Houston event once we waded through those prelims, right?
Now, sincerely, I don’t care whether it’s Strickland or Imavov or, I don’t know, friggin’ Paulo Costa who gets to be the first challenger of Khamzat Chimaev’s reign. I just want the man to stay at 185 pounds and defend his belt! Don’t move up! Do I ask for too much?!?!?!?
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