"He's gonna have to let the hands go" - Josh Thomson explains what Sean Strickland must do to stop 'bully' Jared Cannonier
With the announcement of the middleweight scrap, Josh Thomson gave his opinion on how Sean Strickland could potentially get his hand raised in the matchup against the tough Jared Cannonier.
'The Killa Gorilla' earned a shot at UFC gold when he scored an elbow knockout win over Derek Brunson at UFC 271 earlier this year. The 38-year-old is now looking to force himself back into the title picture after coming up short and losing a unanimous decision to the middleweight king Israel Adesanya.
While discussing the bout on his YouTube series 'Weighing In', Josh Thomson shared some advice for the controversial Sean Strickland, ensuring he must follow a strict gameplan if he wants to get back in the winner's column against Jared Cannonier, saying:
"I wanna know if Sean Strickland, if this fights gonna change him at all. His loss, and how he lost, [and] what happened, is his training gonna be different, is his approach in the cage gonna be different, is he gonna try and be more patient... The way to beat Cannonier, it seems like, is to put him on his back foot, make him feel uncomfortable... In this fight, he's gonna have to move him backwards, he's gonna have to put pressure on him, he's gonna have to let the hands go."
Despite giving Strickland a potential path to victory, Josh Thomson still believes the extremely powerful Jared Cannonier is capable of shutting the lights off at any given minute.
Check out what 'The Punk' had to say about the upcoming middleweight bout in the video below.
How far is Sean Strickland from a middleweight title shot?
Sean Strickland saw his six-fight win streak and possible title shot against Israel Adesanya come to an end when he stepped into the octagon to face the heavy-hitting Alex Pereira on July 2.
After being knocked out midway through the first round, the 31-year-old tumbled down the middleweight rankings and now finds himself as the #7-ranked 185lber in the world.
As things stand, the UFC Paris brawl between former champion Robert Whittaker and the gritty Marvin Vettori will most likely be a number one contender fight, depending on the result of Israel Adesanya's clash against Alex Pereira.
Wthe sheer strength of competitors, it may take some time before Strickland is gifted a title shot. A standout performance against Cannonier and a subsequent win may be enough to earn the unique fighter a shot at the middleweight throne.