DROPPED him!!
That’s wins in weeks for Sean Strickland!
#UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/glOHhkUosF— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA)
November 15, 2020
After injuries from a motorcyle accident sidelined him for two
years, it’s been a memorable couple of weeks for Sean
Strickland.
Strickland earned his second triumph in 14 days at
UFC Fight Night 182 when he defeated Brendan
Allen by technical knockout 1:32 into the second round of their
195-pound catchweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Saturday. That victory comes on the heels of a unanimous decision
victory over Jack
Marshman at UFC Fight Night 181 on Oct. 31.
“2020 has been a hell of a year,” Strickland said. “I just love
being a UFC fighter in the end of the day. After the action and
everything, being a UFC fighter, I’m a fan boy. I’m just happy to
be able to get in there, win, step in the Octagon and get people to
like me and watch me, get fans… The whole year has been great for
me.”
Strickland agreed to face Allen on short notice after his opponent
had a fight fall through the previous week, and what resulted was
arguably the most impressive triumph of the Californian’s career to
date. Strickland had superior volume throughout the fight before
staggering Allen with a devastating two-punch combination and
finishing off his victory with follow-up punches at the 1:32 mark
of Round 2.
Not only did “Tarzan” become the first man to defeat Allen via
KO/TKO, but he also stopped the 24-year-old Roufusport
representative’s seven-fight winning streak.
“He actually beat a couple of my good buddies, so it felt really
good in there. If you watch Brendan, he is a tough guy. He’s never
been broken,” Strickland said. “If you watch his fights, he doesn’t
break, so I remember telling my corner: ‘I want to break this guy.
I want to hit this guy, keep hitting and try to break him. I want
him to not want to be here’. And I feel like we accomplished
that.”
At first, Strickland was surprised at how much damage Allen was
able to absorb. Eventually, though, Strickland noticed that his
24-year-old foe was beginning to wilt under his pressure.
“To be honest, there was a moment when even my mind started
thinking ‘how this guy keep taking these shots?’. But he just
stayed in his game plan, kept fighting,” Strickland said. “Towards
the end of the second round, I just stopped going backwards and I
just kind of felt like he had nothing left and that was when I saw
it was time to turn up and put him away.
“He is a young kid too – I would say I’m a veteran. When he is my
age, he is going to be a whole different fighter, a whole different
story, but right now got to put in more work and get better.”
Now that he has some momentum, Strickland sees no reason to slow
down.
“Give me a few weeks, but we’ll be back. Let’s keep it rolling,” he
said. “I’m 29, let’s knock them out.”