Strickland looking fresh in the last rounds is proof he could've been more active in the earlier rounds. I think even his corner told him to get more active.
As for DDP, i think he's one of the fighters who would breathe through their mouths when getting even a little bit tired. That makes him looked way more exhausted than he actually is.
Looking at the number of strikes alone could be deceptive. He could have built that advantage in the 2 rounds won but still lost the other 3 rounds. Plus, the actual damage caused is what really matters.
He could be and should be as the fight progresses going into the 1st round Sean Strickland just wants a paced start and his defense is giving him the opportunity to do so but because of the takedowns of Dricus Du Plessis he can not focus his defense in its full 100% this has given Du Plessis to get that edge that he needs to get those 6 successful takedowns while he has thrown almost 11 takedowns on that fight If Israel Adesanya has resulted with takedowns maybe he could also have a chance in defending his belt but he didn't and still goes into full standing against Strickland which is not effective.
Strickland actually looked like he was slowing down at R3 and R4 and it was DDP that started to look surprisingly good on those rounds. Be it a change of pace on DDP's side or Strickland getting tired because he couldn't set the tempo like he did Adesanya, I don't know...
Anyway, just noticed that we have another gap week. :/ So no UFC this weekend folks. Sucks...
Those takedowns might be the key for Strickland to change his pace, and because of that he was looking tired at some point, it was getting into him and he should be more active if he can not finish Du Plessis with a knockout or submission then he must be more active than Du Plessis, maybe in the start of the 2nd round the 1st round would be a chance to get both fighters opening and their range but because of Dricus Du Plessis 11 takedowns he has more output than Strickland, for sure both fighters is taking the safe route in winning this, but it is clear who is more hardworking when it comes to his strikes.
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But it looks like it will still take lot of time and of course this fight cannot be held in short time because Pereira championship title is at stake and Dana knows who is worthy challenger for the belt, namely Jamahal Hill.
Magomedov Ankalaev is not yet able to meet Pereira in the near future, of course Dana knows better what decision he has to make.
Jamahal Hill will not only care about money but also about the titles he can achieve, if he succeeds in getting them then in future fights he will also be able to get large amounts of money again.
This is very important for Jamahal Hill and he will try to win it later when he is fully recovered and able to fight.
Jamahal Hill vacated the belt when he was injured while Jiri Prochazka Vacted the belt as well, so why didn't Jon Jones do that, well anyway, if Jamahal Hill would take a longer period to recover I think he needs to let other ranking fighters have a chance in taking a shot on the belt, but that is if the UFC will allowed it, to happen,
Anyway here we go again, this week will be a hiatus for us, I was really excited for the upcoming fight but maybe it is also a good opportunity to watch other MMA fights.