Sean Strickland joins exclusive two-man club by achieving rare feat at UFC Houston

Sean Strickland proved many people wrong during his dominant win over Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston on Saturday.

The former UFC champion was an underdog heading into the main event but proved he still has what it takes to compete at the top, even after a year out of the sport, by stopping Hernandez with a flurry of punches in round three.

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In doing so, Strickland put an end to his fellow American’s five-fight winning streak while cementing his status as a middleweight title contender again.

However, the 34-year-old also set himself apart from his peers in another department.

Strickland is known for putting on the pressure and loving a war in Dana White‘s promotion, and he continued that trend against ‘Fluffy’ in Houston.

Sean Strickland loves to strike

In the 12-plus minutes the middleweights went to war, Strickland landed a remarkable 110 significant strikes, according to the UFC’s official stats platform.

Most significant strikes in UFC history

1. Max Holloway – 3,655
2. Sean Strickland – 2,307
3. Angela Hill – 2,242
4. King Green – 1,938
5. Dustin Poirier – 1,861
6. Jessica Andrade – 1,824
7. Rafael dos Anjos – 1,822
8. Alexander Volkanovski – 1,815
9. Frankie Edgar – 1,801
10. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – 1,754

This makes him only the second fighter in UFC history to land 100 or more significant strikes in ten separate fights, per MMA Junkie.

Former UFC featherweight champion and current BMF titleholder Max Holloway, who defends his belt against Charles Oliveira next month, is the only other fighter to ever achieve the feat.

Holloway has landed 100 or more significant strikes 17 different times in his illustrious UFC career and his 3,655 in total are the most in promotional history.

Strickland’s 2,307 significant strikes are the second-most in UFC history, with Angela Hill, King Green and Dustin Poirier making up the rest of the top five.

What’s next for Strickland?

The Californian has his eyes set on UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.

“This is the fight that needs to happen,” Strickland said at the UFC Houston post-fight press conference amid rumours that Chimaev is set to face Nassourdine Imavov next.

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Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in August to become the new king at 185lbs.

Du Plessis outpointed Strickland to win the belt for the first time in January 2024 before defending it in a rematch with the American 13 months later.

Chimaev has previously told Strickland how easy it was for him to beat a man with two wins over him, but the latter believes previous training sessions with the champion tell him all he needs to know.

“I made him quit training,” Strickland said.

“We were doing positional grappling. He started on my back, and I let him choke me out in the first round because no one gives a f***.

“When I walk into a gym, do you think I find the weakest men and ask to spar?

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“I find the biggest, baddest motherf****r and I’m like, ‘Hey, I want to spar you.’

“Every time Chimaev walked into the gym, he would pick the smallest, lowest-level pro…

“This is a true story. Chimaev is a f***ing bully. He just runs and hides.

“He did it when he was training with us and now he’s doing it with the entire f***ing division.”

Chimaev is undefeated in 15 professional bouts and widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in the world.