Sean Strickland has choices regardless of his loss to Dricus du Plessis earlier this yr, however now he hopes now-former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad follows by together with his previous challenges.
Muhammad has fired pictures at Strickland for the previous yr, and even known as the previous middleweight champ a “coward” following Strickland’s UFC 312 loss to du Plessis. When requested what he desires subsequent, Strickland was reminded of Muhammad’s trash discuss, particularly now that Muhammad is not champ after dropping to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315.
“Belal could be a enjoyable combat, that’d be a enjoyable one,” Strickland informed Helen Yee. “Belal, you need to f*cking sack up, canine. That is it. You may lastly sack the f*ck up, dude. All that shit you talked, man, we will lastly make it occur. Misplaced your belt, you form of bought f*cked up, I bought f*cked up. We must always make that combat occur, Belal. That’d be an excellent one, proper?
“Properly, you’re going to middleweight. I’m [230 pounds], I ain’t happening to welterweight. I’m not doing that lower anymore. That’d be an excellent one. … He mentioned he would [come up to fight me]. All that shit he talks on the Instagram, he’s like, ‘Hey, I’m going to come back combat you, I’m going to come back do that, I’m going to come back do this. Now you may, you f*cking p*ssy. Do it for Palestine.”
Strickland has misplaced two of three — each to du Plessis — after gorgeous Israel Adesanya to win his first UFC championship at UFC 293 in September 2023. The 34-year-old is able to get again within the octagon, and says he had his eye on a combat with Reinier de Riddder following his stoppage win over Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines.
Sadly for Strickland, de Ridder was booked towards Robert Whittaker in the principle occasion of UFC Abu Dhabi in July. Strickland additionally mentioned he was provided a combat towards a top-ranked middleweight, however finally turned it down, as did the opponent, in accordance with Strickland.
“I needed to combat that RDR child, however Mick [Maynard] needed me to combat Caio [Borralho],” Strickland mentioned. “Such an amazing man. I mentioned no. Properly, we form of each mentioned no. It’s a kind of bizarre issues the place it’s like I do know him. I do know his spouse, I do know his household.
“Like, at a press convention, ‘Hey Caio, how’s your child doing? What, he’s turning two?’ It’s simply awkward as a result of I do know [him and] his household. It’s not enjoyable. …
“However that RDR… that will be an amazing one. You’re a jiu-jitsu [guy], you beat up Bo Nickal, who’s a f*cking p*ssy. That’d be an amazing combat.”
