Poirier and Masvidal praise Strickland's wrestling ahead of Chimaev fight

Dustin Poirier and Jorge Masvidal have both commented on Sean Strickland's wrestling abilities, which they say are genuinely high-level. Poirier stated that good wrestlers he knows who have trained with Strickland confirm he is difficult to hold down and has strong get-up ability. Masvidal, who has witnessed Strickland's grappling firsthand in training sessions, noted that while Khamzat Chimaev represents a different level than Strickland's previous opponents, Strickland has handled fighters closer to Chimaev's caliber reasonably well. Masvidal emphasized that holding Strickland down is very difficult, having seen him drill techniques and even grapple with heavyweights. Both fighters' assessments suggest Strickland's wrestling defense may be better than commonly perceived going into his bout with Chimaev.