- Din Thomas blasted Sean Strickland over his poor showing against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312
- The MMA analyst recognized the greatness of “Stillknocks”
Din Thomas was deeply disappointed of how Sean Strickland performed against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312.
All talk, no walk
Speaking during ESPN’s post-UFC 312 show, Thomas lashed out at Strickland for failing to back all the talking he did heading into the rematch with DDP. For Thomas, “Tarzan” is clearly not the type of fighter he claims to be.
“We just have to admit it now. We have to admit it: Sean Strickland is not who he says he is,” Thomas exclaimed. “He’s not who he says he is. We want him to be something. He wants to be something, but he’s not that guy.
“He’s not the guy who’s going to go to the death! To the death! He didn’t go to the death. He didn’t even go deep. I’m not saying he’s not a great fighter. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to be where he’s at. But he’s not who he says he is. We’ve got to admit that,” he pointed out.
Thomas further stressed that he wants to see more from Strickland in the future. Through Thomas’ lens, the former middleweight champion “cheated” the fans with his performance at UFC 312.
“As a coach, I feel for Eric Nicksick because I know what it’s like and I don’t even want to go and be in that situation again. I know I’m hard on Sean Strickland. I know it but it’s because I’m cheated. I feel cheated by you,” Thomas said.
“I hear about these gym stories, these wars that you get into, I hear about how great you are and then you go in these fights, these high-level fights and you give us that. You cheat us. You jab and you kick and I know you’re capable of much more we want to see that. That’s what I want to see from Sean Strickland. I don’t want to see him jab his way to losses. I want to see him give me what he’s capable of, I want to see the full potential of Sean,” he added.
Thomas raved about DDP
On the other end of the spectrum, Thomas heaped praise on “Stillknocks.” For Thomas, DDP proved that he’s not only the best middleweight at this point but he also illustrates what a true UFC champion is.
“DDP is the classiest champion we have in the UFC by far,” Thomas declared. “He says all the right things, he carries himself like a champion and he fights with the heart of a lion… He went out there against a guy who said, ‘Yeah we’re going to do this it’s a rematch!’ He put a stamp on this.”
“He went out there and fought like he wanted it even in the fifth round, winning four rounds, we always think okay if we’re winning four rounds, the guy’s going to back off, he didn’t back off. He really tried to knock Sean out, even in the fifth round. He did everything he could to make that fight exciting. He didn’t have a willing dance partner,” he added.
As it stands, Du Plessis has now defended his belt twice. He plans to move up and face Alex Pereira but will first solidify his status as the middleweight GOAT by beating Khamzat Chimaev.
Watch the full UFC 312 post-fight show below:
