“Little Liar” – Chael Sonnen Thought Sean Strickland Was Bluffing About His Record—Until He Saw Him Fight

"Little Liar" - Chael Sonnen Thought Sean Strickland Was Bluffing About His Record—Until He Saw Him FightChael Sonnen wasn’t buying what Sean Strickland was selling. Today, Strickland is considered one of the best strikers in…

"Little Liar" - Chael Sonnen Thought Sean Strickland Was Bluffing About His Record—Until He Saw Him Fight

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.

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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.

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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.

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Dricus du Plessis Recalls Intense Sparring with Valentina Shevchenko When She Head Kicked Him

Dricus du Plessis Recalls Intense Sparring with Valentina Shevchenko When She Head Kicked HimDricus Du Plessis recently called what it was like training with fellow UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko. During a recent…

Dricus du Plessis Recalls Intense Sparring with Valentina Shevchenko When She Head Kicked Him

Dricus Du Plessis recently called what it was like training with fellow UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko.

During a recent appearance on Breakfast with Martin Bester, ‘Stillknocks’ shared an interesting story about his experience sparring with ‘Bullet’ long before he himself would become a UFC titleholder.

“She is incredible. I sparred [with] her once,” Du Plessis said. “This was when I was younger, like 19 or 20. She’s very small… I’m looking at this lady, I’m still a youngster, so I thought, ‘How am I supposed to?’ And she kicked me right in the head. And I’m like, ‘Okay, then this is not me taking it easy. This is me surviving.’”

Today, both Du Plessis and Shevchenko are UFC champions. DDP’ is currently holding things down in the middleweight division following his split decision victory over ex-titleholder Sean Strickland in January. Since then, Du Plessis has successfully defended his gold, submitting Israel Adesanya in the third round of their 185-pound headliner in August.

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A month later, Shevchenko would reclaim the women’s flyweight crown via a dominant five-round performance against Alexa Grasso at UFC 306 inside Sphere in Las Vegas. It was her ninth career victory in UFC title fights and etched Shevchenko’s name in the history books as the promotion’s first and only two-time women’s 125-pound champion.

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Dricus Du Plessis books rematch with Sean Strickland at UFC 312

While ‘Bullet’ has not yet booked the first defense of her second reign, Dricus Du Plessis will be back in action on February 8 when the promotion heads back to Sydney, Australia for UFC 312.

There, ‘DDP’ will run it back with Strickland, the middleweight division’s top-ranked contender.

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Strickland earned his rematch with ‘DDP’ via a solid showing against one-time title challenger Paulo Costa in June.

Sean Strickland’s Coach Explains Picking Dricus Du Plessis As ‘Toughest Challenge’ Over Khamzat Chimaev

Sean Strickland is set to challenge for the UFC middleweight title for the second time in his upcoming rematch with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312. The former champion stuck to the idea that he would wait for his shot at “Stillknocks” following his win over Paulo Costa in June and it paid off for […]

Sean Strickland is set to challenge for the UFC middleweight title for the second time in his upcoming rematch with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312. The former champion stuck to the idea that he would wait for his shot at “Stillknocks” following his win over Paulo Costa in June and it paid off for him with the fight being announced this past weekend at UFC 310.

For his head coach at Xtreme Couture, Eric Nicksick, the next few months will be all about looking at what they need to do differently in order to defeat Du Plessis in Sydney, Australia. Their first meeting at UFC 297 came down to a close split decision that saw the South African become the 185-pound champion.

For several weeks following his submission win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, it looked like the promotion might be heading towards Khamzat Chimaev as the next title challenger for Du Plessis. Though they aren’t thinking about it right now, both teams will know that if they come out on top in February, Chimaev will likely be their next opponent.

Nicksick spoke in a recent interview with Submission Radio about which opponent is a bigger threat to Strickland out of the current champion and the other top contender in the division. He explained why in his opinion, as of right now, Du Plessis is their biggest challenge.

“I mean, you would have to say [Dricus du Plessis] because he won, he beat us. Right now you have to say that [he’s the tougher matchup] because that’s the task at hand. I think Khamzat presents tons of different variables to his style that we’re gonna have to look at how to break down once that challenge presents itself. But right now, DDP is the toughest challenge for us.”

Teammate Says ‘Different Level’ Khabib Nurmagomedov Could Defeat Dricus Du Plessis At Middleweight

When Khabib Nurmagomedov announced that he would be retiring from MMA at UFC 254 in 2020, he did what very few athletes are able to do. “The Eagle” left the sport that he had dedicated his life to whilst being at the very top of the game. With an undefeated record of 29-0 and three […]

When Khabib Nurmagomedov announced that he would be retiring from MMA at UFC 254 in 2020, he did what very few athletes are able to do. “The Eagle” left the sport that he had dedicated his life to whilst being at the very top of the game.

With an undefeated record of 29-0 and three title defenses under his belt, Nurmagomedov stuck to the promise that he had made his mother following the tragic loss of his father and coach, Abdulmanap. Who knows how much longer the champion could’ve stayed at the top but his final performance inside the Octagon against Justin Gaethje proved that he was still the best lightweight in the world by some distance.

Since then, he has used his unbreakable mentality and elite experience to benefit the fighters around him by acting as a coach. His team recently had success at the 2024 PFL World Championships in Riyadh where Gadzhi Rabadanov brought even more lightweight gold to their trophy cabinet by stopping Brent Primus.

In an interview with Bloody Elbow, Rabadanov spoke about the former UFC lightweight king and how he continues to be incredibly dedicated even after hanging up the gloves for good.

“He trains like a professional fighter still, ever single day, he’s never going to stop. If he could he’d train while he’s flying or in the Arabian dessert.”

Though he is still constantly training alongside his teammates, Nurmagomedov has put on a fair bit of size since stepping away which isn’t necessarily surprising given that lightweight was a difficult weight cut for him at several points in his career. With that in mind, though he doesn’t think Khabib will ever come back, Rabadanov believes that he could be a champion again in whatever weight class he ends up in.

He believes that 185-pounds would probably be a better fit for “The Eagle” at this point in time but that doesn’t mean that Dricus Du Plessis would be able to stop from him getting his hands on UFC gold again if that’s what he really wanted.

“He’s not lightweight any more. I think maybe middleweight is good. 100 per cent [he could beat Dricus Du Plessis]. Khabib is different level.”

Dricus Du Plessis Calls Sean Strickland’s Style ‘Boring’ and ‘Unentertaining’ – ‘I’m Here to Give Fans a Show’

Dricus Du Plessis Calls Sean Strickland’s Style ‘Boring’ and ‘Unentertaining’ - ‘I’m Here to Give Fans a Show’Dricus Du Plessis isn’t particularly fond of Sean Strickland’s pitter-pattering inside the Octagon. After securing a split decision victory…

Dricus Du Plessis Calls Sean Strickland’s Style ‘Boring’ and ‘Unentertaining’ - ‘I’m Here to Give Fans a Show’

Dricus Du Plessis isn’t particularly fond of Sean Strickland’s pitter-pattering inside the Octagon.

After securing a split decision victory over Strickland last January to claim the middleweight title, the two will run it back on February 8 when the promotion heads back to Sydney, Australia for UFC 312.

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In the time since their initial five-round affair, Du Plessis has logged a fourth-round submission victory over two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya while ‘Tarzan’ added yet another split decision win to his resume, besting Paulo Costa in June.

Strickland’s scrap against Costa left a lot to be desired and ‘DDP’ didn’t shy away from throwing some shade at Strickland for overpromising and under-delivering in yet another fight.

“Yeah, I mean, Paulo Costa and Strickland’s last fight… I mean, nothing’s changed. And that’s, that’s… that’s… no, it looked boring like every other fight,” Du Plessis said during an interview on FOX Sports Australia. “Walking forward, jabbing, tipping, it wasn’t an exciting fight. And then you look at the Sean fight, people go like, ‘Did you see that last 30 seconds?’ I say 30 seconds. It’s a five-rounder, and Sean goes…

“No, it was a bad performance from his side. It wasn’t a bad performance. It was the most normal performance for him ever. You know, in our fight, I remember there was a stage in the fight where I was walking forward, but he just kept moving away and moving away, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m gonna stand here, maybe he gets the confidence to walk forward and then we can, you know, punch it out.’ And he just dropped his hands a little and said, ‘Cool.’ He has no problem with the crowd booing his fighting style. He has no problem with that.

“Unfortunately for me, I don’t… I don’t have that in me. I’m there to entertain. I’m there to give the fans a show, and, uh, I’m not there just to win fights. That is only 50% of our jobs: to win that fight. The other 50% is going out there and giving a show, like I always do.”

Du Plessis continues to slam split-decision machine Sean Strickland

Despite his tough talk on social media and a penchant for KOing his sparring partners, Strickland rarely brings that same energy inside the Octagon. Through 22 career fights under the UFC banner, he has only ended things inside the distance five times, including four knockouts and one submission.

Strickland’s last finish came against Abus Magomedov in July 2023. Before that, you’d have to go all the way back to November 2020 when he TKO’d Brendan Allen in the second round of a Fight Night scrap in Las Vegas.

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“Now sure, like I said, his fighting style was very, very effective in avoiding damage and, you know, winning by decision,” Du Plessis continued. “The man has eight split-decision victories. I mean, that in itself has to tell you why, um… or split-decision a fight in the UFC? That in itself has to tell you, listen, the man’s not going out there to finish fights or to entertain.

“Now, is he more entertaining in a fight? Definitely more than he is in the fight. I have to say that. But, you know, it’s effective and it works for him, I guess.”

Meanwhile, ‘Stillknocks’ has a 75% finish rate in the UFC, putting away six of his eight opponents, including Darren Till, Derek Brunson, Robert Whittaker, and ‘The Last Stylebender.’ Overall, Du Plessis has 20 career finishes against 22 total victories, making him one of the UFC’s most prolific finishers.

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Dricus Du Plessis Reveals What Sets Him Apart: ‘I Don’t Mind Getting Punched in the Face’

Dricus Du Plessis Reveals What Sets Him Apart: ‘I Don’t Mind Getting Punched in the Face’Dricus Du Plessis, the UFC Middleweight Champion, has made it clear that his approach to fighting sets him apart…

Dricus Du Plessis Reveals What Sets Him Apart: ‘I Don’t Mind Getting Punched in the Face’

Dricus Du Plessis, the UFC Middleweight Champion, has made it clear that his approach to fighting sets him apart from others in the division. In a recent interview, Du Plessis shared the unique mindset that has propelled him to the top of the middleweight world, and it’s something that could give him the edge in his upcoming title rematch against Sean Strickland.

Dricus Du Plessis

“I don’t mind getting punched in the face,” Du Plessis said. “That was, that was the biggest difference, you know? That was it. I’ll take one to give one, because I know mine’s harder. And I think that was the biggest difference. As I went and I fought Strickland on his strength, I made him go backwards.”

Look at Paulo Costa and Izzy. They were running, they were running, trying to set something up. Strickland is too good. If you’re gonna try and do that, he’s too good. Now, if you give him that momentum, he’s gonna keep on coming and coming. He’s a bully fighter. He likes to bully people, and if you don’t put him in his place quickly, now you are gonna be bullied.”

Sean Strickland

Dricus Du Plessis made a huge statement by defeating Strickland by Split Decision to capture the middleweight belt in January 2024. Since then, he successfully defended his title against the legendary Israel Adesanya in August 2024, submitting him in the fourth round.

Du Plessis’ career has been characterized by his willingness to take risks in the cage, his mindset is also rooted in his belief that he can outlast his opponents. It’s this mentality that allowed him to stand his ground against Strickland, who is known for his pressure and ability to push opponents.

Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland Early Odds

“I made him go backwards,” Dricus Du Plessis continued. “Strickland’s strength lies in his ability to press forward and bully his opponents, but I took that away from him. You can’t let him get that momentum. If you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile.”

Khamzat Chimaev

Looking ahead to a potential rematch with Strickland, Dricus Du Plessis’ approach is clear: he won’t let the former champion dictate the pace of the fight. Instead, Du Plessis plans to once again impose his will and make Strickland fight on his back foot. Also, Du Plessis has voiced a keen interest in facing another threat: Khamzat Chimaev.

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“I would have rather faced Khamzat,” Du Plessis said, hinting that he feels Chimaev would offer the kind of challenge he thrives on. Chimaev, who is undefeated in the UFC and has shown his dominance in both the welterweight and middleweight divisions, is a fighter that many see as a future champion. Du Plessis, however, remains confident in his ability to handle any challenge.