Sean Strickland went out there and made light work of Paulo Costa at UFC 302. It was Strickland’s first-ever fight since his title loss at UFC 297. The former champion dominated the fight and didn’t give Costa any chance to retaliate. After the win, Strickland sent his final ultimatum to Dana White and the UFC.
During the post-fight press conference, Sean Strickland was asked a question regarding his next fight. While responding to the question, the ‘Tarzan’ revealed that he wants to fight for UFC gold and nothing else.
As long as it takes. I want the gold, dude. I want the gold. When you’re fighting these top 10 motherf*****, dude, you’re only one slip and dodge away from being knocked out. I paid my penance. I did what we did. I went and fought Costa. I didn’t want to. I did it. Give me the fu**** title shot
Sean Strickland via UFC 302 post-fight press conference
Strickland’s title reign as the middleweight champion was short-lived as a result of his unfortunate loss against Dricus Du Plessis. It was a split decision loss that attracted a lot of controversy. Many thought Sean Strickland won the fight including Dana White. Strickland even went on to claim that fighting in Canada was his mistake.
Sean Strickland says he’s willing to sit out “as long as it takes” for a title shot:
“I want the gold dude… I paid my pennants… give me the f***ing title shot.
I beat Izzy and that motherf***er gets a title shot.”#UFC302 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/Ht7b1YUu1Y
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 2, 2024
After that, Du Plessis refused to give Strickland a rematch as he had some other plans. Currently, Du Plessis is eager to settle his ongoing beef with former champion, Israel Adesanya. While the South African has signed his next contract, there has not been any official announcement of the fight. However, Sean Strickland is definitely not happy about all this.
Sean Strickland is well known for his unapologetic personality. At the same time has always been a company man. Strickland has often shown his intent to fight anybody that UFC throws at him. However, according to the fighter, the promotion is responsible for him not getting the rematch.
Sean Strickland slams UFC for not giving him the Dricus Du Plessis title rematch (via X/Instagram)
During the pre-fight press conference at UFC 302, Sean Strickland went on a rant about the UFC analytics team.
f***** dorks behind computers. It’s all analytics. They think they’ll make more money with somebody else. I don’t get it… I don’t know man, those f***** dorks behind the computer, they going to let me fight the guy?
Sean Strickland via UFC 302 pre-fight press conference
Sean Strickland blames “dorks behind computers” for not getting the Dricus du Plessis rematch 💻 #UFC302
“It’s all analytics. They think they’ll make more money with somebody else. I don’t get it.” pic.twitter.com/7oJKQa5l9r
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) May 29, 2024
Now that Strickland has gathered a win over Paulo Costa it has cemented his position as the number one ranked fighter in the division. With Du Plessis and Adesanya potentially fighting each other in a few months, it won’t be surprising to see Strickland fighting later this year.
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