January 19, 2024 2: 15 pm ET
Johnny Eblen anticipated UFC middleweight champ Sean Strickland to have success.
Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) dropped Israel Adesanya en path to a consentaneous choice win to claim the title at UFC293 He makes his veryfirst title defense versus Dricus Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 297 primary occasion at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Having sparred Strickland on numerous celebrations, unbeaten Bellator middleweight champ Eblen states he’s a difficult puzzle to resolve.
“I kind of saw it takingplace duetothefactthat I’ve sparred with Sean,” Eblen stated on MMA on SiriusXM. “The veryfirst time I sparred with him, I was like, ‘What the f*ck is this?’ Like, this is various. This guy is difficult to hit. I can’t get his timing. He’s uncomfortable. He can hit me. The veryfirst time you spar Sean, it’