Jonny
Parsons says he barely trained for his 2021
Dana White’s Contender Series bout after Sean
Strickland knocked him out with a head kick in sparring.

The two sparred at
Syndicate MMA, where Parsons still trains, six weeks before the
bout. Parsons recalled the incident ahead of his Nov. 7 return to
the Octagon at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Jonny Parsons recalls being knocked out by Sean Strickland in
sparring

Parsons said he was tiring when Strickland, a two-time
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder, picked
up on his head movement. Parsons avoided the first two punches of
the combination but took the kick across his jaw.

Parsons said he only saw how the knockout unfolded when he watched
the gym’s security footage afterward. Strickland drove him home
that day.

“Before Strickland kind of settled down at
Xtreme Couture, he was training at Syndicate [MMA],” Parsons
told Danny Podolsky. “Second half of the round, I start getting a
little winded, he kind of catches a groove to my head movement and
he kind of just pops up a one-two head kick. I slipped the one, I
rolled the two, and right as I came out of the roll, boom – head
kick across the jaw, across the face. I faceplanted out cold. I
only know what it looks like ‘cause I watched the footage from the
security camera afterward… Sean Strickland was nice enough to drive
me home that day. That was six weeks before my Contender Series
fight. So going into my Contender Series fight, I really did almost
no training.”

Parsons (9-3) won his Contender Series bout by split decision to
earn a UFC contract. He won his UFC debut by stoppage in 2023 but
hasn’t fought since. Parsons said he pushed himself too hard in
training and that lingering injuries kept him out of action. He is
scheduled to return against Jose
Henrique Souza (9-1) at
UFC Vegas 124 on Saturday.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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