Conor McGregor believes Sean Strickland’s ‘unconventional’ training methods are key to his success
Sean Strickland’s fight style is one of the most unique in combat sports and that comes with some extremely unconventional training methods.
The former middleweight champion has continuously been one of the most controversial and outspoken figures throughout combat sports and a lot of that comes from his out-of-cage antics.
Despite always being covered in controversy, Sean Strickland is on the verge of fighting for the UFC middleweight title for the second time, taking on Dricus Du Plessis in a huge rematch at UFC 312.
Although Strickland consistently goes to war in training and sparring, he receives criticism for his style inside the cage having only scored one finish in seven fights.
READ MORE: ‘More pressure, less skill’… Sean Strickland reveals what he’ll do differently after rewatching first Dricus du Plessis fight
Conor McGregor praises Sean Strickland’s ‘unconventional’ training methods
A lot of professional fighters don’t believe in hard sparring and the likes of even Max Holloway took sparring out of their fight camps.
However, Strickland is of the completely opposite belief as he spars hard right up until fight week for his fights.
Despite that, former UFC double champion, Conor McGregor has praised Strickland for his ‘unconventional’ training methods, attributing that to the success he has had inside the Octagon.
When Strickland shocked the world by beating Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, McGregor put that down to his ‘spar only method’.
“The ‘spar only’ method crowns the new UFC middleweight world champion. Well done Sean,” McGregor tweeted at the time.
Strickland, who trains at Xtreme Couture, has shared the mats with potential future opponent, Khamzat Chimaev. Strickland was fortunate to get the title shot according to Du Plessis who favored a fight against Chimaev instead.
As well as his work at Xtreme Couture, the former champion has also become friends and training partner of current UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira.
Pereira will be part of Strickland’s corner at UFC 312, a decision that has been criticised by former UFC double champion, Daniel Cormier, who believes it’s a ‘risk’ for the Brazilian.
Sean Strickland’s coach backs decision to have Pereira in the corner
Although the decision to have Pereira in the corner has been criticized by both Cormier and Du Plessis, Erick Nicksick has backed the decision by stating ‘Who better to have in the corner’ than the current biggest star in the sport?
Despite the fact that ‘Poatan’ won’t be able to offer much advice as there is a clear language barrier between the two, Nicksick believes the Brazilian’s presence in the locker room before the fight will be a big motivation for Strickland.
Strickland went out to Salt Lake City for UFC 307 to help Pereira prepare for his title fight against Khalil Rountree Jr and is hoping he will have a similar success with the roles now reversed.
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