Sean Strickland is back! After a year of losing the rematch to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312, ‘Tarzan’ is going to make the walk to the ring against Anthony Hernandez at the Toyota Center. However, the road to fight night was indeed tough for the ex-middleweight champ as he went through hell during the weight cut.

Before getting to the scale, Strickland revealed some jarring details about his latest weight cut. He spoke about having double vision, keeping one eye closed to ease visibility, and feeling extreme exhaustion ahead of the showdown, raising massive concerns ahead of his bout against ‘Fluffy’.

Sean Strickland reveals brutal weight cut ahead of UFC Houston 

“I don’t know why, but when I cut weight… I can only see double vision,” Strickland said in a video uploaded on social media. “I think it’s the worst part about cutting weight that we always have to walk with one eye closed. This is what we really get paid to do, okay. It’s worse than a fight.”

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Well, although the Nevada native detailed the process of his ruthless weight cut, he successfully made the middleweight limit. In fact, Strickland hit the mark at 185 lbs, while Hernandez came a pound over, making it 186. With another successful cut, the former 185 lbs kingpin maintained his streak of not missing weight. However, Strickland’s struggles with the scale are definitely real.

After the 34-year-old’s literal horror stories about the weight-cutting process, fans sometimes find it strange that he was once a welterweight. In his early UFC years, Strickland started as a 170-pounder and then moved up a weight class after the cut became too tough for him. But despite that switch, the ex-champ’s cutting process remained troublesome, as he once fought Nassourdine Imavov on short notice at 205 lbs, citing that he could not make 185 lbs in time.

That brings up another question. How much weight does Strickland cut exactly? According to reports, the Nevada striker’s walkaround weight is around 230 lbs, comfortably touching the heavyweight limit. So to make the middleweight limit, Strickland needs to cut nearly 45 pounds, which explains the struggles.

Now, even after facing those difficulties, Strickland is all set to make the walk on February 21 to face Hernandez, and he has received some backing from a bitter rival as well.

Belal Muhammad provides ‘Tarzan’ a game plan 

Ahead of the UFC Houston spectacle, Anthony Hernandez is getting some traction. The bookmakers have the Mexican-American winning the bout, mostly based on how he dominates opponents on the ground. But as Sean Strickland plays the underdog, his bitter rival Belal Muhammad believes there is one trick that could flip the entire fight in the former champ’s favor.

As per ‘Remember The Name’, if ‘Tarzan’ can spam his signature teep kick to the body, it could hurt ‘Fluffy’ and propel Strickland to victory.

“He’s gonna throw out that jab, he’s gonna throw out that teep,” Belal said in a video on his YouTube channel. “I’m going to say over/under 150 teep kicks for Strickland. I will say, the only good thing about the teep kick is ‘Fluffy’ has shown that he’s got a weakness to the body. He’s gotten hurt to the body a couple of times. It tells me something, that’s like a weakness in his game.”

Here, the former welterweight champ might be referencing the fight against Kevin Holland, in which ‘Trailblazer’ knocked out Hernandez with body kicks and knees. But that fight happened back in 2020, and ‘Fluffy’ looks like a much different fighter now. And although Strickland’s long-term bitter rival has a point, he needs to be a little careful dealing with those body kicks, as Hernandez can catch them and drag him down to the mat.

That said, with Sean Strickland stepping back in against a dangerous opponent, do you think he can actually beat Anthony Hernandez to keep his title dreams alive? Let us know in the comments section below.