Tyron Woodley says Sean Strickland played the part he was meant to play at UFC 328, even if the lead-up looked half real and half show. In an exclusive interview, the former UFC welterweight champion argued that Strickland’s usual style made the trash talk land differently, and that the fight still delivered enough chaos and noise to sell the night.
Tyron Woodley on Sean Strickland after UFC 328: “He’s almost become uncancellable”
Woodley’s read on Strickland was blunt. “Strickland is Strickland. He’s become a very memeable person. He likes attention, and he got a little loose. He’s kind of a filterless figure in the sport where you can say stuff like that, especially when he’s almost become uncancellable because he says so many ridiculous things all the time,” he said in an exclusive interview with LowKick MMA with the help of NewBettingSites.uk. He added that fans do not react to Strickland the same way they would to a fighter who rarely crosses the line and then suddenly does it once.
Woodley felt the build-up served the event. “You expect it, and you don’t hold him to the same standard as somebody who never says anything out of line and then suddenly says something crazy. So I feel like he did what he was supposed to do. And if it’s good enough, we’ll forget that they trained together and that they were laughing. As long as the mix-up is fun and entertaining, that’s what matters. I think they made it fun and entertaining. They did what they should do for the fight,” he said. That is the heart of his point: the storyline worked because it kept people watching.
Former UFC champion on Sean Strickland after UFC 328: “He likes attention”
The UFC 328 main event ended with Sean Strickland upsetting Khamzat Chimaev by split decision to reclaim the middleweight title in Newark. Strickland won two scorecards 48-47, while Chimaev took the other by the same margin. The pre-fight tension was real enough to spill over in public.The bout was shadowed by offensive and racially charged remarks from Strickland, while live coverage noted a heated press conference and a kick from Chimaev earlier in fight week. At the same time, the fight itself ended with a moment of respect when Chimaev placed the belt around Strickland’s waist after the decision was read.
The story worked because both men know how to lean into fight week drama. Strickland has long sold fights with provocation, and this one reached a level where even the bad blood started to look like a performance to some viewers. Woodley’s view is that it did not matter whether every bit of it was pure emotion, because the final product was entertaining and easy to remember.
