Sean Strickland Eyes Dricus Du Plessis Rematch, Blames Canada for UFC Title Loss
Sean Strickland is ready to try and reclaim the UFC middleweight belt the next time he steps into the Octagon.
The 33-year-old pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history when he comprehensively out struck Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight strap at UFC 293, but Strickland’s reign as champion ended up being short-lived after he suffered a split-decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis in his first title defense.
The former champion has kept a fairly low-profile in the months following UFC 297 aside from his usual online activity, and Strickland recently took to social media to make his case for an immediate rematch with Du Plessis.
Strickland is correct that Adesanya was given an immediate rematch after he was stopped by Alex Pereira at UFC 281, but “The Last Stylebender” had already defended the middleweight belt five times by that point and even attempted to take the light heavyweight belt from Jan Błachowicz at UFC 259.
The former champion’s call for an immediate rematch with Du Plessis was surprisingly cordial even if it didn’t quite take Adesanya’s title reign into account, but unsurprisingly a fan response to his initial post encouraged Strickland to go off in a more characteristically off-color direction.
There was some speculation that Du Plessis might defend his middleweight belt for the first time against Adesanya at UFC 300 before that plan fell apart, but after the heated face off the pair had at UFC 290 there’s a good chance the UFC might try to get that fight on the books before giving Strickland a chance to reclaim the title.
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