Robert Whittaker expects UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev to be a different beast for Sean Strickland.
Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) finished Anthony Hernandez by TKO at UFC Fight Night 267 on Saturday in Houston to re-enter the title picture. Strickland and Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) have since gone back-and-forth by trading barbs.
Advertisement
Whittaker says Strickland pieced up “Fluffy” and made him look very average but that Hernandez (15-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) is not Chimaev. Whittaker knows first hand after he had his teeth rearranged in a quick submission loss to Chimaev at UFC 308.
“Night and day, absolute night and day,” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “Having been in there with Chimaev and everyone who saw what he did to Dricus (Du Plessis), it’s not the same. It is not the same.”
Strickland initially dubbed Hernandez as the American Chimaev, seeing him as a good test in preparation for the champion’s style. However, Hernandez attempted only one takedown against Strickland.
“It didn’t look like ‘Fluffy’ tried too hard, like really committed,” Whittaker said. “I think that’s his whole style. It’s like a little bit of boxing, and then he pushes you up against the wall, then he gets the takedown if it’s there, then he moves it back up to the hands. It’s kind of a rinse and repeat, but he doesn’t really to commit to any one angle, and I think that was the problem he was having because he wasn’t committing too hard with the strikes.
Advertisement
“Sean was just keeping him off with that jab, keeping him at the end of his jab, hurting him there, and then when ‘Fluffy’ would push him up against the fence, he wasn’t getting any success there because he wasn’t committing to any takedowns. He didn’t want to over-invest in it maybe potentially because of the five rounds. Yeah, Sean just really controlled that fight.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ex-UFC champ shares important reminder for Sean Strickland
