Sean Strickland: Is His Fighting Style Really That Boring?

Okay, so today I decided to dive deep into this whole “Sean Strickland boring fight” thing. I’ve been hearing it all over the place, so I figured, why not see for myself?

First, I pulled up a bunch of his recent fights. I mean, I went back a good few, just to get a real feel for his style. I started with the most recent one, obviously, and then worked my way backwards.

I spent a solid afternoon, just watching fight after fight. Seriously, hours. My eyes were starting to glaze over. I made myself some coffee, grabbed some snacks, and just kept going.

What I noticed, and this is just my take, is that Strickland…he’s a grinder. It’s not always flashy, you know? He likes to control the pace, wear his opponent down. He’s not out there throwing haymakers every second.

• Lots of jabs.
• Consistent pressure.
• He stays in your face.
• Doesn’t take huge risks.

I can see why some people might call it “boring”. If you’re looking for knockouts and wild exchanges, you’re probably not gonna get that every time with Strickland. But I started to appreciate the technical side of it. The way he manages distance, the way he dictates the fight…

He also defends well, I noticed, this dude protects himself first.

My Takeaway

It’s not always a fireworks show, but it’s effective. I ended up respecting his style more than I thought I would. “Boring” is maybe too harsh. It’s strategic, it’s methodical. It’s like, he’s playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. I can see that.