Sean Strickland is on the fence about serving as the UFC’s safety net.
In the next title fight that’s all but confirmed, two-time champion and the man Strickland took the belt from, Israel Adesanya’s targeted to return against current middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis later this year. There’s not yet word on when the championship bout will happen, but is sure to be one of the biggest fights of the year, should it get signed, sealed and most importantly delivered into existence.
How many N bombs can you drop on TV? HAHAHAHA pic.twitter.com/B5MdjkMKPN
— DinhoMMA (@DinhoMMA) July 9, 2023
Though, nothing is guaranteed in the fight game and we’ve seen that time and time again with fighters withdrawing from matchups weeks out to the last minute, with an injury, sickness, weight miss, at this point we’ve seen it all. That’s why the UFC will occasionally bring in a back-up fighter for a title fight to prevent a card from falling apart if a fighter does decide to opt out.
If that’s the case for either Du Plessis or Adesanya before fight time, would Sean Strickland step up for the middleweight title fight? That’s probably a question better saved for after he fights Paulo Costa at UFC 302 this Saturday, but Strickland would answer it anyway.
“Yeah, why not? I’ll do it,” Strickland initially said to CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri. “Actually, no… it depends. I’m not gonna cut weight for like $20k, so maybe. I’m always in shape but like to go sit in a sauna for 5 hours at $20k? F*** that.”
Working for the weekend 👊@SStricklandMMA | #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/MbBA3LT0Xw
— UFC (@ufc) May 31, 2024
There are rumors that Du Plessis vs. Adesanya will be held at UFC 305 on Aug. 18 in Perth, Australia, which means if Strickland did take the UFC on the potential back-up position, he’d have to fly back to “the land down under” for a small chance to reclaim his title through another fighter’s misfortune.
Last September was where Strickland would show up to Sydney on short notice to dethrone then-champion Adesanya at UFC 293 in a masterful performance. Strickland wasn’t all that close to title contention but the title shot became his whenever Dricus Du Plessis made it clear he wasn’t going to risk going into his first title fight compromised with a shorter training camp.
Strickland finds himself in a weird place in the middleweight division, even with a win over a top contender in Paulo Costa this weekend. Still the #1 contender in the world, Strickland may be jumped by a marketed title eliminator between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev, who are fighting in the UFC Saudi Arabia headliner on June 22. (More fights this month)
“Maybe I stick it out?” Strickland said on what he’ll do after his next fight with Costa. “Depends if I want to buy something cool or not.”
Time will tell how the middleweight division unfolds later this year and if the back-up spot for the next title fight will even need to be filled.
