The Sean Strickland Fight Nobody Talks About Anymore

Sean Strickland's middleweight title win over Israel Adesanya made headlines worldwide. His subsequent loss to Dricus Du Plessis sparked endless debate. But sandwiched between those marquee moments sits a fight that quietly defined his trajectory: the April 2022 rematch with Uriah Hall.

Their first meeting in July 2018 was a bloodbath that ended in a Hall knockout after Strickland broke his right hand early and brawled anyway. Four years later at UFC on ESPN 28, Strickland returned to face Hall again — this time with a completely retooled approach. No wild exchanges. No emotional overdrive. Just five rounds of suffocating jab-and-pressure that left Hall frustrated and outclassed on the scorecards.

The fight was not pretty. Hall landed hard leg kicks throughout. Strickland ate them, walked forward, and doubled up his jab. He mixed in takedowns when Hall tried to counter. The crowd in Las Vegas booed stretches of the third and fourth rounds. Strickland did not care. He had learned the lesson from their first bout: you cannot out-tough everyone, but you can out-think them.

The unanimous decision moved Strickland to five straight wins and positioned him as a legitimate middleweight contender. More importantly, it showcased the discipline that would carry him through Alex Pereira, Abus Magomedov, and eventually Adesanya. Where the 2018 version of Strickland would have chased the finish and paid for it, the 2022 model took what the fight gave him and banked rounds.

Hall retired after two more losses, his career defined by flashes of brilliance and inconsistency. Strickland kept climbing. The rematch proved he could win ugly when necessary — a skill every champion needs. In a sport obsessed with highlight finishes, that five-round decision deserves more credit than it gets.

Today, Strickland remains one of the division's most polarizing figures. But if you want to understand how he reached the title, start with the night he refused to brawl with Uriah Hall and jabbed his way into contention instead.