This week's card was basically the exact opposite of what we've seen from the UFC so far. The previous to cards were less than great overall, but then got carried by a really good main event. In the case of UFC 270, it was the main and co-main, but you know what I mean. This week's card was actually pretty fun from start to finish and then the co-main and main didn't match that energy for different reasons. Nick Maximov's wrestling absolutely smothered Puna Soriano, especially after the injury. Unfortunately it really sucked the air out of the arena as well. Soriano was able to defend well enough to stay off his back and not absorb any damage as Maximov had to focus on keeping him in place over landing ground and pound or attempting a submission. However, Soriano couldn't defend well enough to get any space to land his strikes either, so it was mostly just clinching against the fence with Maximov wrapped around Puna's legs while he tried to keep them spread and digging for underhooks until the time ran out. The main event really wasn't all that much more exciting as Jack Hermansson was really unable to get anything going. He couldn't get any takedowns and other than the very first attempt, he didn't even get close. Strickland's striking defense was just too much and while he didn't do anything all that notable offensively, he basically limited Hermansson's offense so well that the jabs he was landing were enough to get a pretty easy win. Unless you're Sal D'amato I guess.
We'll start with Hermansson and I really don't even have that much to say about him. I think more credit should go to Strickland, but Hermansson really didn't perform up to what we have come to expect from him. After Strickland stuffed his takedown early on, he really didn't seem to have much of a game plan when it came to attacking him on the feet. He was left to throw basic combinations and Strickland's defense was just too good to do anything substantial. He landed some decent leg kicks at times, but that was really the extent of Hermansson's offensive success. He didn't really get beat up by any means, but he was just noticeably out struck from that point on. I was really disappointed in Jack's performance because I really thought he had a chance to win this and was leaning towards picking him early in the weak before ultimately going with Strickland on Saturday. As for what I would like to see from Jack next time out, I think he needs to come in with a more layered game plan. When plan A didn't work against Sean, he was basically just left to figure it out on the fly. I would like for him to have a noted plan B and plan C so that he's not so limited whenever he fights next. I still really like Jack and normally enjoy watching him. I expect him to bounce back and maintain his place inside the top 10.
The way I currently see it, there's three options for Hermansson in his next fight. I think the division is in such a place that we can actually give him someone coming off of a loss. Those options are Paulo Costa, Darren Till, and Uriah Hall. Costa to me may be the least likely option because he was already ranked above Hermansson before this fight and now with Jack likely to drop after this loss, I don't think he'll be fighting up in the rankings next time. With that said, Costa and Hermansson are in similar situations, so it isn't the worst matchup. They're both coming off of multiple consecutive losses and need to sort of reset. It is also still unclear if Costa will be returning to middleweight after the nonsense that surrounded his main event with Marvin Vettori. Dana said at the time that Costa will be moving to light heavyweight, but we haven't really heard much on that topic in awhile. The Till fight is much more interesting and probably the one I would be most interested in making out of these 3 options. Till is also coming off of multiple losses and is the fighter on this list that I see as being the most equal to Hermansson in terms of their current standing in the division. It also gives them an opportunity to address a perceived weakness. Hermansson just lost to a striker and would be able to take on another one in Till. Darren is coming off of a loss to a grappler in Derek Brunson, so he would also be able to address that concern in his game. Both are respected members of the division and the winner would be injected right back into the upper tier of it. It is honestly really hard for me to book Uriah Hall against anyone because he is almost perpetually in a weird spot. Hall seems to always be up and down. Before his previous loss to Sean Strickland, he had won 4 in a row which included Anderson Silva's last UFC fight and the horrible injury suffered by Chris Weidman. Hall is hard to book because of his inconsistencies in performance, but both he and Hermansson would be coming off of a loss to the same guy, so maybe that is enough of a reason to make that fight. That fight against Strickland was in July and we haven't heard anything about Hall since, so its hard to say when Hall will even be looking to get back in there. I like the Till matchup for Hermansson and Till quite a bit. If Till can recover from his injuries and be ready to go, that's the fight I would look to make first for both men.
This was a little bit of an unusual performance for Sean Strickland. He's actually shown some levels and improvements in his game the last few times that have gone under the radar. That's mostly due to his strange and sometimes worrisome comments, but he's really putting himself in a great spot. In the Uriah Hall fight, he showed improvements in his offensive wrestling game and in this fight, he showed us a much more controlled and patient version of Sean Strickland. He may not be patient Ngannou, but patient Strickland is a really tough fight. It isn't as exciting of a style as we saw against Jack Marshman, but it was extremely effective. He basically rendered Jack Hermansson unable to do anything to him. He couldn't take him down and couldn't land any strikes. We knew his takedown defense was good, but to do it against Jack Hermansson proved that it was top 5 middleweight good. His striking defense has also always been pretty good, but like I said in the preview, he found himself in situations where he was too willing to exchange and was taking unnecessary shots. He didn't do that at all this time. He was content to use his jab from the outside and just land his shots without putting himself at any risk, which was easy once he realized Hermansson wasn't going to be able to take him down. Stuffing that early takedown was a clear sign as to how the fight was going to go and Strickland was able to do exactly what he needed to on the feet in order to take away any puncher's chance Hermansson had. If he fights a higher level kick boxer next, they may be able to take more advantage of the leg kicks that Hermansson was having some success with, but that defense can be added in training. It wasn't the most exciting fight, but that was a really in control performance from Sean that was really good to see if he's going to be fighting in the top 5. Getting into a crazy fight with Izzy, Whittaker, or even Paulo Costa isn't a great idea and Strickland proved that he can win without being wild. His defense of course was really the main takeaway though. He shut down Hermansson completely and that will be huge for him if he wants to fight for and win the title in the next couple of fights.
I usually like to list 3 opponents when it comes to this section, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way. In the case of Sean Strickland, I think 3 is the exact number of options he has. Being that he'll be at worst 6, there's a limited number of options for him, so he's not guaranteed to fight someone coming off of a win. The 3 options I have for Strickland are Israel Adesanya, Derek Brunson, and Marvin Vettori. Some may suggest Paulo Costa and while he is an option and it would be a good fight, I don't know that a win over Costa really propels Sean into a title fight, which is what his next fight has to be set up to do. I'm going to start with Adesanya and Brunson because they are somewhat tied together. Israel Adesanya and Derek Brunson are both fighting this weekend. The best case scenario for Sean Strickland is that both of these men win. If Adesanya loses to Robert Whittaker, that likely results in an immediate trilogy and if Whittaker wins again, then the division is wide open because almost everyone will be a fresh matchup. If Jared Cannonier beats Brunson, then he is the most likely number one contender. If Izzy retains and Brunson wins, that would set up a potential rematch that I don't know that most people are all that excited to see. Having Brunson as the number one contender gives Sean an outside chance at the title shot just because he represents a fresh matchup who is on a great run and would have some fan support behind him. If Cannonier does get the win, he will likely fight for the title next (again assuming no immediate trilogy fight for Whittaker), which means Sean will need another fight before a title shot. This is where the Brunson matchup comes into play. In this scenario, Brunson will have lost and will still be a top 5 middleweight for Strickland to face. Strickland probably fights for the title with a win and Brunson would put himself in position for another number one contender fight should he come out with a win. It is a matchup that probably favors Strickland given what we just saw him do to Hermansson, but Brunson has been the ultimate underdog for awhile now. The most likely fight in my estimation is going to be Strickland vs Marvin Vettori. Vettori is coming off of his win over Paulo Costa and is sitting in the number 2 spot with no clear path to get back to a title shot as long as Izzy has the belt. The matchup is very similar to what we just saw in Hermansson honestly. A big, strong opponent who wants to wrestle, but is game to strike and does so with power. I may be a prisoner of the moment, but I think I would favor Strickland in that fight given what we just saw him do to a similar opponent, but I would love to see it play out. I think a Vettori matchup is the most likely thing for Strickland in his next appearance. The loser of Brunson/Cannonier is next likely, especially if Brunson loses, and the title shot is the least likely of the options I just laid out. A Paulo Costa fight is somewhere in there, but I don't think it is a particularly attractive option because they are two fighters going in different directions right now.
What do you guys think? What did you think about how the fight played out? What should Hermansson have done differently? Who would you like to see him get next? What about Sean Strickland's performance? Was it enough for the title shot? Leave any and all thoughts below. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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