The former middleweight champion believes that he can correct his mistakes the second time.
Sean Strickland was very clear that he thinks he should have been given his hand in the main event of UFC 297, where he looked to make the first defense of his middleweight title.
After beating Israel Adesanya in a stunning way, the new champion went into a matchup with Dricus du Plessis, who eventually became a heated feud.
At the end of five rounds on that night, the South African challenger nodded with the narrow split decision judgment that went his way, despite what Strickland thinks should have happened.
They are now ready to trace it in the main event of UFC 312 on 8 February, where the emphasis is on the challenger to make some crucial adjustments to get to the top of their second meeting.
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Sean Strickland suggests a change in approach to UFC 312
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Sean Strickland thought about what he learned from looking at his loss against Du Plessis.
This was the first time that the middleweight candidate had recovered one of his fighting after his head coach, Eric Nicksick, forced him during their preparations from the Vechtkamp.
According to Strickland's opinion, it is the score criteria that he cost him on UFC 297 and to prevent that in the rematch, he does not want to leave any room for doubt by putting it on the title defender.
The 33-year-old has a unique style that combines pressure fighting with a serious emphasis on defense, but he believes that he was potentially too focused on one element in January last year.
“The difficult thing was when I got that cut, it really changed the dynamics of the fight, but I just think it should be a dog fight with this fight. More busy, less skill, “said Strickland.
Sean Strickland must find a way to implement his pressure
If there was one aspect of their first fight that surprised fans, it was that Sean Strickland was unable to effectively put Dricus Du Plessis under UFC 297 under pressure.
The champion had been very effective at the time to walk down opponents, to keep them at a distance and to keep pushing them for 25 minutes, but this was not the case in the Scotiabank Arena.
Du Plessis came in with a smart game plan and instead of releasing his gas tank in the first two rounds, he fought more conservently than we have seen in the past, so that he would have enough for the part of the fight where Strickland tends the tendency Has Word stronger.
If sacrificing what skill is able to make him fight 'stillknocks' fight, Strickland could bring itself more risk to have a greater chance of earning the reward.
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