'Modern Day Tank Abbott' - Former UFC Title Challenger Declares That Israel Adesanya Should Beat Sean Strickland 'Every Time'

During a recent episode of The War Room on YouTube, former UFC fighter-turned-analyst Dan Hardy broke down the first defense of Adesanya's second middleweight rule, which comes five months on from his return to the throne in Miami.

"The Outlaw" was firm in his assessment of the pair's skills, describing the champ as the far more superior martial artist.

Comparing Strickland to early MMA icon Tank Abbott, Hardy noted that the controversial American's style is that of a "street fighter" who should never be able to outperform Adesanya.

"Whatever I say, he (Strickland) doesn't care what I think, and that's one of the reasons why he fights like he does," Hardy said. "He's almost the antithesis of martial arts. He's like a modern day representation of a Tank Abbott kind of energy. Tank Abbott could wrestle and he was a good athlete and he had very heavy hands, but he was a street fighter. The whole vibe of Tank Abbott, especially in those early UFC days, was, 'Damn your martial arts. It doesn't matter how many hours you've spent in the dojo... I'm gonna come and stomp a hole in your face.'

"Sean Strickland brings that kind of energy. It's a more modernized version, of course, and there's a lot of training that's gone into the style that Sean Strickland has. But that, for me, is still the energy of it," Hardy continued. "Because of that, and because I'm a lover of martial arts, I look at this fight and I think to myself, Adesanya should win every time. There isn't a time where Sean Strickland should be able to get to Adesanya or beat him... But that doesn't mean it's gonna happen every time."

As Hardy pointed out, incredible things happen in MMA and an underdog can rarely, if ever, be counted out. Strickland will look to prove as much this weekend, when he makes the walk in Sydney with little expectation on his shoulders from the masses.

What is expected from him, however, is some heated exchanges on the mic, a realm of the sport that some believe "Tarzan" could fare better in. From there, the likes of Henry Cejudo have advised the challenger to "go for broke" come fight night.

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