PFL light heavyweight contender Alex Polizzi returned to the win column this past week when he defeated Antônio Carlos Júnior via unanimous decision.
As always, he prepared for the contest at the consistently highly populated Xtreme Couture gym under head coach Eric Nicksick.
Though there are always world-class fighters in and out of the doors at the Las Vegas facility, if there’s anyone that has defined that team in recent times. it’s Sean Strickland.
He has been able to make the most out of the sheer amount of bodies and top-tier talent that comes through Las Vegas to feed his appetite for sparring.
In an exclusive interview with MMA News, Polizzi spoke about what it is like to have Strickland as a training partner. He said that the UFC star first pointed him out one day and asked if he was a wrestler, potentially due to his cauliflower ears.
After Polizzi said yes, he was informed that he would now be Strickland’s sparring partner for the day and from that moment on, the two men have had a great training relationship.
Polizzi said that Strickland is always asking him to help improve his wrestling whilst he hopes that some of the former UFC middleweight champion’s striking will rub off on him.
“Anyone who watches Sean knows he’s got some really great striking and I told him, after a couple times training, he’s like, ‘You know you really got to teach me how to wrestle.’ I’m like, I’m more than willing to teach you how to wrestle if you teach me how to not get jabbed 12 times before moving my head.”
Alex Polizzi Looks Forward To Sean Strickland’s Next Camp, Whoever The Opponent Is
Polizzi is sure to be called back into action by Strickland in the near future even if the former champion purposefully sidelines himself.
He has stated that he intends to sit and wait to face the winner of the upcoming middleweight title fight at UFC 305 rather than fighting again in the meantime.
During the interview, Strickland’s teammate said that whilst he can’t weigh in on what a fight against Robert Whittaker may look like, he did say that he’s excited for whenever his training partner does want to get back to work.
“Outside of watching him specifically, watching his opponents for the wrestling, I’m gonna say I’m not knowledgeable enough to know. However, I will say that no matter who Sean fights next, it’s always a blast when Sean’s in camp.
“He brings the energy, brings the fun and it’s always good to get some matches in with him and every time, he’s like, ‘Polizzi I need you there to coach me in wrestling’. I go, ‘Sean, you haven’t wrestled the past four matches, I don’t know what you want me to tell you.'”
