Sean Strickland isn’t thrilled with the prospect of a Khamzat Chimaev fight.
UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland recently weighed in on potential challengers for later this year.
This weekend, at UFC 297, ‘Tarzan’ will make his first defense of the 185lbs gold opposite Dricus du Plessis. The build to the fight has been unpredictable, with everything from deeply personal trash-talk and a pull-apart brawl to the pair shaking hands and being friendly on camera.
Former two-time champ Israel Adesanya is expected to be in the house for the fight, with rumors circulating he could be next in line for a title shot. However, ‘The Last Stylebender’s current injury status could ultimately put that into question, as he’s not expected to resume training at all until later next month.
“I’d Prefer Somebody New” – Sean Strickland On Future Challengers
During a recent media day for UFC 297, Sean Strickland was asked about challengers he could take on this year if he retains against ‘Stillknocks’.
Two potential opponents posed to ‘Tarzan’ were Jared Cannonier – who controversially beat Strickland via split-decision at UFC Fight Night 216 – and Khamzat Chimaev. ‘Borz’ moved up to middleweight for good last year, but ultimately defeated longtime welterweight star Kamaru Usman at 185lbs at UFC 294.
Sean Strickland revealed that he’d rather a fresh opponent, but doesn’t believe Khamzat Chimaev is a worthy challenger yet. However, if the pay was good enough, ‘Tarzan’ would take on ‘Borz’ or anyone else the UFC put in front of him.
“It’s kind of hard man, I’d prefer somebody new,” Sean Strickland said. “Chimaev- I mean, rankings f***ing matter dude, like who is- has Chimaev ever fought an 85er? But who is he- I mean he had not fought a ranker 85er then he fought- he took Usman off the couch for a week, like, come on dude, like, stop f***ing with UFC, go back to being a real f***ing sporting event, go back to f***ing rankings, I don’t give a f**k, again, I don’t give a f**k who it is, make the stack of money bigger, I’ll fight you, you know?”