Kamaru Usman didn’t hide his disappointment after Sean Strickland’s lackluster performance at UFC 312 against Dricus Du Plessis. Their first clash at UFC 297 in January 2024 was a razor-close battle, but the rematch told a completely different story. This time, it was all Du Plessis. The South African dominated from start to finish, adding a second ruby to his title reign with a commanding unanimous decision victory.

And Usman, on his ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast with Henry Cejudo, pointed out what exactly went wrong for Strickland. “I told you at the beginning of the fight, I was going to go with Dricus… I said I would go with Dricus just because I didn’t feel like Sean Strickland could get out of his own way enough to do what it took to win the fight. And it, you know, it looked a lot like that… Nothing was different, he was walking forward as he usually fights,” Usman said.

Although not everything was doom and gloom from ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ as he did think Strickland’s jab looked better than in the first fight. But Usman felt ‘DDP’ (after dominating the initial rounds) breaking ‘Tarzan’s nose in the fourth meant curtains for the American.

“And I would say though, that the jab looked a little sharper from Sean Strickland. So I don’t want to just take anything away from him. The jab looked sharper, he was throwing it with some conviction. And you know he popped the right hand a couple times. But I think in the later rounds once he broke his nose, it was just it was a wrap,” he added.

A similar sentiment was expressed by MMA GOAT contender, Demetrious Johnson, who felt that ‘Tarzan’s biggest problem is that he never “deviates from that ‘Philly Shell’ style.” Although ‘DJ’ was a big fan of Strickland’s “beautiful jab he has, along with a 1-1-2 and a 1-1-wide 4,” he just felt that the American’s “teeps, the push kicks,” were just a bit played out. Instead, the GOAT contender wanted ‘Tarzan’ to evolve and swallow his “pride and your ego”.

“Put yourself in a position where you’re going to force yourself to evolve and get better and learn new tools. That’s the only way you’re going to become a better fighter in this game. Otherwise, people who are younger, who will take the time to evolve and get better, are always going to beat you,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel.

To be fair to Strickland, he probably had a staph infection coming into the fight, which may have adversely affected his performance. Regardless, ‘Tarzan’ is now out of the title picture for now, but does have some pretty good options for his next fight going forward.

Both Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker are coming off losses and in need of a top-ranked opponent. In fact, ‘Tarzan’ and Adesanya already have a pretty well-developed storyline since the American had shockingly defeated ‘Izzy’ two years ago. Then there is also the possibility of Strickland fighting a promising up-and-comer like Caio Borralho or Brendan Allen.

Either way, ‘Tarzan’ needs at least a couple more wins before he can think about fighting for the title. And a win over the younger guys would probably be a better start for his road back to the top. On the other hand, ‘DDP’, who wiped the floor with ‘Tarzan’, has far loftier goals.

Dricus Du Plessis talks about GOAT aspirations after Sean Strickland win

Dricus Du Plessis admitted after the fight that winning a UFC title had been his childhood dream. Well, safe to say the South African is good on that count. So what motivates the middleweight gold standard now? Achieving GOAT status!

“‘I need to win this next fight because this is the fight that is going to get me the next one. This is the fight that’s leading to the ultimate goal of being the greatest, so regardless of what’s on the line, the fight needs to be won,” Du Plessis told ESPN MMA after UFC 312. This is not an unrealistic or unachievable goal for ‘DDP’ by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the South African has already done much of the work to reach it. He has beaten Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, considered the best middleweights of his generation.

A few more wins, especially if they come against the likes of Khamzat Chimaev and young and hungry lions like Nassourdine Imavov or Caio Borralho could indeed put him in the middleweight GOAT conversation. What do you think about Kamaru Usman’s take on Sean Strickland’s UFC 312 performance?