Sean
Strickland believes he has earned his stripes for the next
title fight at middleweight.
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Dricus Du
Plessis will put his middleweight title on the line against
Israel
Adesanya at UFC 305
on Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia. The winner of that match is
expected to face either Strickland or Robert
Whittaker, who are both coming off massive victories.
Strickland made his case for a title shot with a split decision win
over Paulo Costa
at UFC 302
on June 1. Meanwhile, Whittaker scored a first-round knockout win
over unranked prospect Ikram
Aliskerov, who replaced Khamzat
Chimaev on short notice at
UFC on ABC 6 last weekend. Many believe a fight between
Strickland and Whittaker is the best way to decide the next
rightful title contender.
However, Strickland believes he has already done enough to deserve
the next middleweight title shot over Whittaker. Strickland argued
that he already beat Adesanya and was robbed of a win against du
Plessis. Meanwhile, both Adesanya and Du Plessis own emphatic
victories over Whittaker. The former champ now wants to wait for
opportunity to reclaim gold rather than fight Whittaker.
“I keep getting asked to fight Whittaker,” Strickland wrote on X.
“I beat Izzy, the world knows I beat Dricus. Whittaker lost to
both. I am the No. 1 contender, I defended that spot easily against
Costa. I will wait…..”
I keep getting asked to fight whittaker. I
beat Izzy, the world knows I beat dricus.Whittaker lost to both.
I am the number 1 contender, I defended that spot easily against
Costa.I will wait…..
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
June 25, 2024