Getty Alex Pereira & Sean Strickland
Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen, who now spends his time as an MMA analyst, wants to give Sean Strickland “a pass” after his recent KO to Alex Pereira.
In a recent YouTube video on his channel, Sonnen spoke about his former training partner’s loss to Pereira at UFC 276 last weekend. Strickland was ranked No. 4 at the time and with a win over the Brazilian, he would have likely earned himself a title shot.
Things didn’t go the American’s way, however, as he was starched in under three minutes by the former two-division Glory kickboxing champion.
Pereira now appears to be the next challenger for Israel Adesanya’s throne.
With the loss, Strickland’s six-fight win streak was snapped and his record fell to 25-4.
Sonnen Said Strickland ‘Can Beat’ Pereira if He Threatens With Takedowns
Sonnen said that Strickland implemented the wrong strategy against the striking ace. Instead of imposing the threat of his wrestling and grappling, Strickland elected to stand and trade with Pereira.
“Should we give Sean Strickland a pass?” Sonnen said in the video via MMA Fighting. “You know I’m giving him one, right? You know what a believer I am in Sean Strickland. I feel terrible for him, I really do.
“Sean did not do the one thing I needed him to do to make my prediction true that Sean Strickland can deal with this guy, including in the striking. Sean Strickland can go out and kickbox with this guy. Sean Strickland can beat this guy. Sean Strickland can be the No. 1 contender.
“For those things to be true I only need one thing, I need the threat of a takedown. I need for Sean to not come out and make it clear we have an unwritten agreement, and the agreement is we’re gonna stand here and we’re gonna trade punches and kicks. I need the threat of a takedown.”
Sonnen Questioned if It’s ‘Fair’ to Pile on Strickland
Strickland is known for his brash personality and making inflammatory comments. So, after losing to Pereira in the fashion he did, some fans piled on Strickland. But, Sonnen doesn’t know if that’s the route the MMA community should take in regards to the middleweight.
“I can’t give Sean too hard of a time in fairness because the fight was so short,” Sonnen said. “We don’t know what was to come. We’re only looking at a couple minutes of fight here. Sean’s going forward, Sean hadn’t quite got down to cutting him off yet, the elevation change, some of these things could have still been in the plan and it got cut short.
“Can we give Sean a pass? I mean, Sean was trying to do what the audience really wanted to see. The audience really wanted to see this fight but if we knew Sean was just going to go out, tackle him, put him in a realm he had never been in, all the sudden they lose interest a little bit. They wanted Sean to stand and trade. That’s you guys. You were the audience. That’s what you wanted, he went out and gave you what you wanted. Is it really fair that we kick him now?”