UFC News: Sean Strickland confused by Robert Whittaker title negotiations

No one has been fighting for a shot at gold more than Strickland, who lost the UFC middleweight championship to Dorricus du Plessis in a controversial split decision at UFC 297 in January. Since then, the American has continued to push for title shots, successfully defending his No. 1 contender status with a decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

But there is another fighter in contention for the 185-pound title: former champion Robert Whittaker. “The Grim Reaper” is coming off a TKO loss to current champion Dricus du Plessis, but has bounced back to win two straight bouts.

Whittaker was scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev in a title bout last month, but when Chimaev withdrew, Whittaker ended up KOing the replacement, Ikram Aliskerov. With his next middleweight title fight looming, du Plessis faces Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in August, Whittaker is keeping his title dream alive.

We already know that Strickland has no intention of fighting again before then, preferring to wait for the winner of DDP vs. Adesanya, but he can't shake the feeling that Whittaker, who is ranked lower than him, might get a shot at the title.

“How crazy that Whittaker is getting a title fight before me,” Strickland wrote on Tuesday. “You're 0-3….by stoppage. [loss to DDP and Adesanya] LOL. I beat both of those motherfuckers LOL…do rankings matter?! UFC, do the right thing…

While Strickland has made it clear that he has no plans to fight Whittaker in a bout for the title, “Tarzan” has listed just one example of a potential encounter between the pair in the Octagon.

“If I get the belt back, he can have it,” Strickland told the fan, adding that he would like to see a fight between two former champions next.

Sean Strickland became the UFC middleweight champion less than a year ago, defeating two-time champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 293. And it was all announced on short notice.

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