Chael Sonnen wasn’t buying what Sean Strickland was selling.
Today, Strickland is considered one of the best strikers in the game, having dominated former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya to capture the UFC’s middleweight title in September 2023. Unfortunately, Strickland’s reign came to a quick end courtesy of a questionable split-decision loss against current 185-pound champion Dricus Du Plessis.
On February 8, ‘Tarzan’ will get the chance to make it right and reclaim the crown when he runs it back with ‘DDP’ at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia.
Ahead of their highly anticipated rematch, Sonnen recalled the first time he met a 21-year-old Strickland who was boasting about being an undefeated fighter with a whopping 17 victories already to his credit.
Sonnen is ‘Very proud’ of what Sean Strickland has accomplished
Of course, ‘The American Gangster’ thought Strickland was just another kid blowing smoke — until he saw him compete.
“Met Sean Strickland at the Reign Training Center,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “21 years old, little liar! He comes in the room, and we start working out. He tells me he’s 17-0 and the King of the Cage champion. You can’t get 17 fights at 21 years old. You can’t do it. No commission would give you that many fights.
“And I remember leaving and telling Miss Pretty, ‘That guy says he’s 17-0.’ And she’s like, ‘Do you think he’s lying?’ I go, ‘He would be 17-0. If he said 17 fights, he would have won them all. That guy’s really good.’ Went on to be a world champion. Very proud of him.”
Today, Strickland is 29-6 in his mixed martial arts career with 16 of his victories coming under the UFC banner.
Following his loss against Du Plessis in January, ‘Tarzan’ bounced back with a solid showing against one-time title challenger Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June — a win that ultimately earned him his rematch against ‘DDP’ in 2025.
