What martial arts does Sean Strickland use in the UFC?

Sean Strickland is a US MMA fighter who currently fights in the UFC. Although he’s undoubtedly a top fighter, sometimes he makes the news for all of the wrong reasons. It’s no secret that Strickland is a controversial character and has some interesting takes on life.

During his childhood, Strickland suffered at the hands of his abusive father which may explain why his behavior can be rash at times. He once even went on record to say that without MMA, he could have ended up cooking meth as an alternate profession.

This crazy personality may be one reason why he’s nicknamed Tarzan, due to his wild nature. Regardless of his personality, it’s fair to say that Strickland is a great fighter and has the record to match. In the UFC, he defeated the likes of Tom Breese and Urijah Hall – which took place after he became the KOTC champion. Here’s what fighting style Sean Strickland uses in the UFC.

Sean Strickland is a BJJ brown belt

Most modern MMA fighters have to incorporate Brazilian Jiu Jitsu into their game and Strickland is no different. He has a brown belt in BJJ which means that he’s advanced in this area and has grappled for years.

His BJJ can be seen with three submission wins throughout his career. Although most of the time he wins by knockout or decision, he has won by rear naked choke on those three occasions. Interestingly, he used a RNC was his first ever professional win and also in his first ever UFC bout against Bubba McDaniel. Like many modern MMA fighters, Strickland isn’t too reliant on submissions though, and prefers to use BJJ for pressure, eventually leading to ground and pound.

Boxing

Although Strickland is a solid grappler, his biggest strength is arguably in his boxing. Most of the time, Strickland prefers to stand and bang which is pretty standard considering his weight class. When boxing, he often uses a loose style and relies on his left jab to pick off his opponents and finish them with right hooks.

Often, Strickland uses a stalking-style of boxing, similar to the Diaz brothers where he constantly walks down his opponents. This is a very aggressive style that can overwhelm opponents due to the constant pressure. Unlike the Diaz brothers though, Strickland is arguably more composed and can box whilst going boxing. In MMA, this is a very important skill whilst being attacked. With this said, even if you do beat Strickland, you’ll always be in for a tough fight because of this.

Muay Thai

Whilst boxing is important in MMA, it’s not the only way of fighting on your feet and Strickland sometimes uses Muay Thai too. For the most part, Strickland prefers to box but his Muay Thai is also solid. Against Brendan Allen, he used Muay Thai to finish him. This started with flying knees which rocked his opponent.

When Allen squared up to Strickland, he replied with a strong teep kick which led to a flurry of punches. Arguably, without this level of versatility then Allen may have survived. Had Strickland purely relied on his boxing then it may not have been enough to finish his opponent.

Judo and wrestling

As mentioned, Strickland mostly likes to stand and box. However, he can certainly grapple when needed. For the most part, Strickland isn’t known as much of a wrestler but like most modern MMA fighters, he definitely can wrestle. A lot of the time, this means defensive sprawls or gaining underhooks against the cage to prevent a take down. Due to his strong striking game, a lot of fighters will take down Strickland which makes tactical sense. Obviously, if you can take him to the floor and put him on the bottom then he may struggle. So, it’s important that he can wrestle to play to his strengths.

Still, Strickland performed a brilliant outer reap trip on Urijah Hall. In Judo this is called an osoto gaeshi and looks beautiful when performed. Even though Judo isn’t as fashionable in MMA as wrestling, it’s still useful and shows an offensive side to Strickland’s takedown game.

Summary

Overall, it’s fair to say that Sean Strickland primarily relies on boxing and uses his length and long frame to his advantage. Although this style often looks relaxed, there’s obviously a lot of technique and skill that goes into it. Elsewhere, he also uses elements of Muay Thai when fighting but this is more of a secondary part of his stand up.

When it comes to grappling, he mostly uses BJJ to smother his opponents when on the ground and to advance positions until he can land significant punches. Aside from this, he can also grapple when standing and throws it in to mix things up.