UFC 312 roundtable: Is Sean Strickland about to shock the world – again???

Sean Strickland profitable the UFC middleweight title stays one in all MMA’s most surprising moments. One factor that would prime it? If he does it once more.

That’s the chance Strickland has this Saturday when he rematches Dricus du Plessis in the principle occasion of UFC 312 in Sydney. Strickland scored a surprising upset of Israel Adesanya to turn into champion, then dropped the title in a slender loss to du Plessis at UFC 297. Each males gained their following fights to arrange a rematch and Strickland now finds himself on the precipice of constructing unlikely historical past after few predicted he would have gold round his waist.

The identical is true of the co-main occasion, the place strawweight champion Zhang Weili is tasked with stopping the undefeated Tatiana Suarez. Suarez’s rise to the highest has come at a glacial tempo as a consequence of accidents, however she will be able to end a narrative she’s been writing for years with a win over Zhang. Simply don’t anticipate Zhang to cooperate in terms of Suarez’s fairy story coming to fruition.

MMA Combating’s Alexander Ok. Lee, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew collect on the roundtable to look forward on the two huge matchups headlining UFC 312, plus what hidden gems may be picked out on a card missing in star energy.

1. The place would Strickland turning into a two-time champion rank among the many most stunning MMA accomplishments?

Martin: Proper forward of Sean Strickland turning into a UFC champion within the first place?

Let’s be trustworthy right here. Strickland is an effective fighter, however no one outdoors of his teammates and coaches picked him to beat Israel Adesanya to turn into champion when he successfully bought a title shot by default as a result of the UFC wanted a foremost occasion for UFC 293 in Australia and the at all times outspoken middleweight was obtainable. A deep dive on Strickland’s résumé reveals he’s struggled to tug away from most of his competitors with a 7-3 report in his previous 10 fights, with six of these wins coming by choice and his one end coming in opposition to an over-matched Abus Magomedov. Now to his credit score, two of his three losses got here by break up choice—together with his first combat in opposition to du Plessis—with the third ending in a knockout delivered by his new cornerman Alex Pereira.

By each measure obtainable, Strickland is a stable however not essentially nice fighter that struggles to actually separate himself from his competitors. That’s why no one anticipated him to turn into champion and the identical logic applies to profitable the belt twice! It’s not as surprising as Matt Serra knocking out Georges St-Pierre to win a UFC title or Holly Holm flatlining Ronda Rousey with a head kick but it surely’s not that far behind.

Meshew: That is form of laborious to nail down as a result of the probability of it relies upon completely on when the query is being requested.

For those who posed this query to virtually any individual even remotely related to MMA again in 2022, there would have been near-unanimous settlement that pigs had been extra more likely to get into aviation. However then 2023 occurred and someway, Strickland reinvented himself and gained the title with a dominant ass-whooping of the second-best middleweight ever.

Now, it’s clearly much more seemingly. Loads of folks assume Strickland ought to have gained the primary bout with du Plessis, and even ardent DDP Stans like myself must agree that his specific model of massive dumb violence might be not destined for a brilliant lengthy title reign. It’s completely doable Strickland is the one on the precise facet of the break up choice come Saturday as a result of the laborious reality of the matter is Strickland is an effective fighter. No, he isn’t thrilling, and sure, his type is so devoid of offense that it makes fights unnecessarily shut, however at this level denying his skill is solely hating.

So I assume that’s all to say it wouldn’t be that surprising.

Lee: In a void, it appears inconceivable.

Right here’s an inventory of all of the fighters to seize a number of UFC titles in the identical division (in no specific order):

That’s it. Simply 18 fighters within the fashionable period. And Strickland might be a part of that record? Think about Strickland having the ability to declare a feat that’s unique to fighters like GSP, Jones, Aldo, Nunes, Shevchenko, Couture. That sounds friggin’ bizarre, doesn’t it?

However that’s precisely what’s in play on Saturday. I’m nonetheless on the fence so far as making a choose, however I simply needed to correctly body this query and go away you all to stew on it.

Severely, we’re in “Corridor of Fame lock Sean Strickland” territory if he pulls this off.

Picture by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photographs

2. The place does Zhang transfer on the all-time pound-for-pound record if she beats Suarez on Saturday?

Lee: I’ve to place her within the top-5, which says as a lot about Tatiana Suarez because it does Zhang Weili.

As simple as it’s to write down Suarez off as lacking her window as a result of litany of accidents she’s handled, the actual fact is that for probably the most half she’s delivered on her extraordinary promise when she’s been wholesome sufficient to enter the octagon and that makes her an ideal challenger for Zhang; which is to say, an ideal challenger to construct Zhang’s legacy if the champion can add Suarez to her already spectacular record of victories.

Sure, Zhang’s 0-2 mark in opposition to Rose Namajunas holds her again for now, however outdoors of that collection the Chinese language star has conquered all of her rivals and has regarded really dominant in a number of of these matchups. Simply primarily based on the attention take a look at, it’s laborious to not place Zhang among the many likes of Amanda Nunes, Valentina Shevchenko, and Cris Cyborg.

The place precisely she slots in, I’m undecided, however when you think about she nonetheless has loads of alternatives to additional improve her legacy, one will get the sensation we’ll be revisiting this query quickly sufficient.

Martin: A part of this query depends on how extremely you rank Suarez and for me, she’s the inheritor obvious and a fighter pegged as a future champion ever since she gained The Final Fighter 23. Sadly, Suarez is teetering on Cain Velasquez territory for fighters whose careers have eternally been modified by accidents. However at her greatest, Suarez is an exceptional fighter and if Zhang can beat her, that’s an enormous feather in her cap.

So the place would that put her all time?

It might be argued that Zhang racking up a 3rd straight title protection and sixth win general in championship bouts places her within the top-3 all time behind Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko. These two fighters have really outlined themselves as as soon as in a era skills that confronted the absolute best competitors obtainable to them. Zhang beating doubtlessly her hardest problem up to now can be an enormous achievement and she or he might cement herself in that higher echelon of all-time greats. Sharing rarified air alongside Nunes and Shevchenko is a good place to be.

Meshew: Now it is a robust query.

By my estimation, the top-5 pound-for-pound best feminine fighters ever are, so as, Amanda Nunes, Cris Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko, Ronda Rousey, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. You can also make a case for somebody like Megumi Fujii, however these 5 girls all had lengthy reigns beating good opposition, which is what issues most within the GOAT dialog. And Zhang is certainly knocking on the door of that dialog, particularly if she wins.

A win for Zhang virtually actually ensures she finally ends up with the longest strawweight title reign in days (Jedrzejczyk is at 966, Zhang is a number of weeks over 800 days) and places her one behind Jedrzejczyk when it comes to profitable title defenses. The pair of losses to Namajunas through the prime of her profession are a minor blemish, however apart from that we’re speaking a few stellar run. Plus, she has the 2 wins over Jedrzejczyk. So if Zhang wins on Saturday, the dialog for No. 5 all time is formally open, and yet one more after that in all probability removes all argument.

Picture by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

3. What fighter outdoors the highest 2 bouts has an opportunity to steal the present?

Meshew: LOL. The trustworthy to God true reply is nobody.

This card is the most popular of rubbish outdoors of the 2 title fights and no one—apart from the family and friends of the fighters competing—goes to care. This might be a foul APEX card, a lot much less a foul pay-per-view. God forbid one thing occurs to both of the principle or co-main occasions this week as a result of if that’s the case then this may go down because the worst PPV on report.

However, if you’ll make me select, give me Francisco Prado, who takes on Jake Matthews in the principle card opener.

Prado is just 22 years previous and he’s already proven to be a really proficient and thrilling younger man. You might keep in mind him from having a rattling good combat with Daniel Zellhuber at UFC Mexico final 12 months (although, admittedly, not so good as Zellhuber’s UFC 306 scrap) and that’s precisely what you possibly can anticipate out of him. He brings numerous violence to the desk and for the various truthful criticisms of Matthews, the person doesn’t again down from a combat.

If one combat goes to brighten up this turd sandwich of a card, that is the one.

Lee: I don’t know if he can steal the present per se, however I might be fixated on Anshul Jubli’s second official UFC look (he gained a Street to UFC finals bout at a UFC Vegas occasion, however these match bouts apparently don’t depend? I’m nonetheless confused on this one).

When final we noticed India’s “King of Lions,” he seemed to be on his strategy to an 8-0 begin to his profession as he was cruising to a call in opposition to an chubby Mike Breeden. This was booked to be a showcase combat for Jubli and for all intents and functions he was getting the job carried out.

Then Breeden began barking at him. And he didn’t cease. For the love of all that’s holy, for 5 minutes, Breeden actually had that canine in him. Jubli had no concept methods to react, visibly wilting because the rabid Breeden walked him down. Halfway by the third spherical, Breeden poured on the strain and he left UFC 294 with a comeback knockout and Jubli seemingly in shambles.

So yeah, I need to see how the person bounces again. Having a legit contender from India can be superior (shout-out to Puja Tomar and her doubtful break up nod over Rayanne dos Santos, nonetheless counts!) and Jubli regarded like a promising prospect till Breeden determined to channel Cujo. A win over the closely favored Quillan Salkilld can get the Jubli hype prepare again on monitor.

Martin: That is impossibly robust as a result of reality be instructed, UFC 312 is principally a two-fight card. The 2 championship bouts are the one fights with any actual stakes hooked up to them, so that you may as effectively strap on a blindfold and simply throw darts at a board to see what you get.

I’ll go all the way in which to the prelims to search out the one fighter on this card who actually intrigues me and that’s Contender Collection signing Kody Steele. He’s an undefeated prospect with hammers for fists and world-class grappling that he hasn’t actually proven off a lot currently. Steele has all of the makings of a future contender within the UFC if he can combat to his strengths. He’s extremely thrilling, a nasty finisher who scored a physique shot knockout to earn his UFC contract, and he has an Eddie Bravo Invitational win below his belt.

Is Rongzhu really going to problem him? He does have about 4 instances as a lot expertise in order that has to depend for one thing, however it is a probability for Steele to shine, possibly earn a bonus, and get a spot increased up on the cardboard when he fights subsequent.