Sean Strickland believes his erratic rant may be the only obstacle on his path to another middleweight title fight.
Strickland defeated Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision at UFC 293 in September 2023 in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Strickland’s short-lived title reign came to an end this January with a split decision loss to Dorricus du Plessis at UFC 297. Strickland then bounced back with a split decision win over Paulo Costa last month, a bout that many believe “Tarzan” should have won by unanimous decision.
du Plessis, meanwhile, will face Adesanya for the title in the main event of UFC 305 on August 17 in Perth, Australia. Strickland is determined to fight the winner of that bout rather than a title shot against Robert Whittaker. “Bobby Knuckles” bounced back from a stoppage loss to du Plessis to win a unanimous decision over Costa and then knockout victory over last-minute newcomer Ikram Aliskerov.
According to Strickland, Whittaker outdoing him in a title fight would just show that the UFC doesn’t want him on the big stage behind the microphone.
“It’s no secret,” he told Shakiel Majli, “so I’m next in line. It’s me, not Whittaker… If they give Robert a chance for the title, it’s for one reason only: they don’t want me to hold this title. [a mic] “On the main stage. I’m next. There’s no debate, that’s a fact. If Whittaker is given a chance to fight for the title, welcome to Bud Light.”
Strickland has become notorious for voicing his often controversial opinions. For example, he has previously said that if his son turned out to be gay, he would consider himself a failure. The former middleweight champion has also said that women should be in the kitchen and that giving women the right to vote was a mistake. Strickland also did not hesitate to condemn UFC sponsor Bud Light for putting transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s name on its cans last year.
