The previous UFC champion hopes to insert himself back into the title picture next month.
Sean Strickland is unsurprisingly putting himself through the ringer to organize for his upcoming return to the Octagon.
The often reliably lively American hasn’t competed since he headlined UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia last February.
Within the time that he’s been away from competition, Strickland has reunited along with his coach before he looks to remind everyone that he’s still a significant player at 185 kilos.
Nevertheless, a person who has frolicked contained in the cage with the previous champion prior to now believes that this won’t be the beginning of one other title push.
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Krzysztof Jotko says Sean Strickland’s big fights are already behind him
Sean Strickland recently said that he was pressured into fighting Dricus du Plessis with an injury when attempting to reclaim the middleweight title of their UFC 312 rematch.
Whether the champion made good adjustments or the challenger fell into mistakes, there’s no denying that their second clash for the 185 pound gold was way more one-sided than the primary.
Krzysztof Jotko believes that the previous titleholder isn’t going to return back and suddenly seem like a rejuvenated middleweight contender after over a yr off.
Jotko, who was beaten by the American via unanimous decision on the UFC Apex in 2021, previewed his former opponent’s upcoming matchup with Anthony Hernandez in an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow.
While Strickland sees Hernandez as a path to Khamzat Chimaev and reclaiming the middleweight title, Jotko isn’t so sure that the 34-year-old veteran has this left within the tank.
“Hernandez is a extremely, really dangerous guy. He can wrestle and he has good submissions. He attacks submissions very fast. Strickland is a excellent boxer in fact. He likes to fight within the rise up but I believe he has quite a lot of miles, quite a lot of fights. In my view, Strickland’s gonna go just a little bit down from his shape, I believe so. Perhaps I’m fallacious but I believe Strickland has his big fights behind him already.”
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Krzysztof Jotko has been positioned because the villain for his huge upcoming bout
Krzysztof Jotko believes that unlike Sean Strickland, he’s currently in a late prime in his profession at 36 years old, having battled injuries and illness throughout his UFC run that he’s now overcome.
Since signing to OKTAGON, all three of his fights and wins have are available the promotion’s Tipsport Gamechanger tournament.
He’s now set to face Kerim Engizek within the finals on January 17 at OKTAGON 82 having been seen by many because the villain of this yr’s tournament.
Jotko told Bloody Elbow that fighting Engizek in front of his opponent’s home fans in Dusseldorf, Germany doesn’t trouble him within the slightest.
“I’m absolutely okay with this,” he said. “Up to now, I at all times fought with people of their backyard… I feel good. I believe that is even higher for me to get motivated. It gives me the anger and I’m joyful to be there.”
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