Sean Strickland Believes PFL Champ Sadibou Sy Could Win UFC Welterweight Title

Sean Strickland is confident that training partner Sadibou Sy could duplicate his Professional Fighters League success in the UFC.

Sy will attempt to win the welterweight championship for a second consecutive year when he faces Magomed Magomedkerimov at the 2023 PFL Championships on Friday at the Anthem in Washington, D.C. The main card airs via pay-per-view on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

The 36-year-old Swede has won seven straight outings since 2022, showcasing a varied striking arsenal that includes a skilled jab, a toolbox of kicks and knees in close quarters. During the current PFL season, Sy has scored a pair of spectacular finishes against Jarrah Al-Silawi and Shane Mitchell. Strickland, the UFC's reigning middleweight king, has seen Sy’s skills firsthand.

“He would be the welterweight champion [in the UFC],” Strickland said on his YouTube channel. “Then I’d probably have to fight him for the middleweight belt. Sadi is the best striker I’ve ever sparred. Proof is in the pudding, man. We’ve all seen your highlights. Generally when I spar Sadi, I’m like, ‘F—k, this sucks. Why can’t I hit you, Sadi?! This is bulls—t.’”

While Sy’s tendency to wait for countering opportunities has led to him being involved in some closely-contested decisions, Strickland says that approach is part of what makes him such a difficult stylistic matchup.

“I’ll tell you what makes Sadi so good: The f—ing man thinks, dude,” Strickland said. “When he’s sparring, he just like – he’s calculated, he understands, you know? To be a really great standup artist, a lot of it comes from the mind. If someone gives you an IQ test, what do they test? They test you on reading patterns, predictability. When you’re sparring, all you’re doing is reading patterns and finding out predictabilities. High-level striking is a big IQ test.”

Sy perviously faced Magomedkerimov in the 2021 PFL playoffs, where he dropped a unanimous verdict to his Dagestani foe. He hasn’t lost of fight since then.