Israel Adesanya lost his second title fight a few hours ago. After claiming the Middleweight title in his rematch against Alex Pereira, Adesanya was ready for his career’s second title defense. But his opponent, Sean Strickland made the bout a one-sided domination and showcased an impressive defensive style. Strickland kept his distance and kept on building up the pressure for ‘The Last Stylebender’. Adesanya seemed to be a bit baffled by Strickland’s fighting style, as there was no urgency in his movements, even though he was losing every round moving forward.
His performance impressed everyone, so much so that even Oscar De La Hoya gave him great advice for his bout recently. Well, many noticed the way ‘The Tarzan’ was moving around the Octagon, and his stance was resembling the legendary boxer, Floyd Mayweather’s. Well, there’s no doubt that if any fighter aspires to be defensive, then Mayweather’s ‘Philly Shell’ technique is the go-to master class for everyone. The fans had a lot of things to say about the resemblance.
Sean Strickland emulating Floyd Mayweather mid-fight excites the combat sports fans
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On the X app, the account OOC MMA, drew the similarity between Strickland’s pose and Floyd Mayweather’s ‘Philly Shell’ stance. The fans lost their minds with the accurate side-by-side comparison photo.
One of the fans stated that Strickland has very well adapted the ‘Philly Shell’ technique in his MMA fights.
He really adapted the philly shell perfectly for mma
— Mike Sharpe ~ Investment King 👑 (@Mike_Sharpe_) September 10, 2023
Another fan mentioned that at first, it seemed a bit impossible for Strickland to take on the defensive stance going forward in his fight against Israel Adesanya.
I didn’t think stylistically it would work out for Strickland. I’m impressed. Izzy was a good champion
— Jeremy Atkin (@Jeremy_Atkin69) September 10, 2023
One fan commended the new UFC Middleweight champion on his victory and even called it “fantastic”. They loved the way he carried himself throughout the bout.
He was fantastic!!
Great performance from him!!
— FlameO (@NFT_NWO) September 10, 2023
A fan stated that he did a great job combining the techniques of traditional Muay Thai and defensive boxing for his MMA contest.
It sounds bizarre but Strickland executed it perfectly.
He somehow combined traditional muy tai and philly shell defensive boxing, it seems kind of counterproductive but it somehow works extremely well for him, bro barely took any damage
— squiddy (@dogfoodsniffer) September 10, 2023
An X user made a joke that this style of fighting shouldn’t be allowed inside the Octagon.
This style of fighting should be banned in MMA lol. It was a pure boxing contest 😂
— EVM + WASM (@nuel_ikwuoma) September 10, 2023
Well, another fan agreed with the post and stated that they were thinking the same thing while watching the fight.
I'm thinking the same too. Guards like the money. But his reign will be off soon
— Poso Pulungan (@posopulungan) September 10, 2023
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On a different note, one fan believed that Strickland could never reach up to the level of Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.
Can never be like prime Mayweather
Shit was never intense— Jo_Syls Studios (@ohia_maame_tw3) September 10, 2023
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Most of the fans were impressed by the way Strickland took the fight forward and how strategically he moved inside the cage against his opponent. Furthermore, Strickland received a lot of praises for his recent performance, and they all seemed well deserved. What are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments section.
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