No matter what the world says, Sean Strickland has his sights locked on one man. It’s been nearly nine months since the former middleweight champion last entered the Octagon, and a lot has changed since then. He’s gone 0-2 against Dricus Du Plessis, served a six-month suspension, and even tied the knot. After his second unsuccessful attempt to defeat ‘Stillknocks’ at UFC 312, the ‘Tarzan’ is now focused on redemption.

Determined to climb back into title contention against reigning middleweight kingpin Khamzat Chimaev, he’s looking for the right opponent to kickstart his comeback. And in his mind, there’s already one clear choice. Sean Strickland has been vocal about wanting to fight Anthony Hernandez, whom he called the “American Chimaev.” As he declared last month, “I want to fight somebody like Anthony Hernandez. Fluffy puts me in title contention. Especially with him.”

Interestingly, Sean  Strickland sees Hernandez as the perfect test because of his similarities to ‘Borz’s relentless grappling style. So far, though, nothing has been officially announced by the UFC. In a recent Q&A session, ‘Tarzan’ mentioned he wants to fight in “Jan or Feb next year.” However, despite his clear callout, the promotion has yet to confirm anything. On social media, a fan even suggested Michael ‘Venom’ Page as Strickland’s next opponent, but the former champion quickly shut it down, insisting, “going to be Fluffy.”

With that mindset, Sean Strickland has clearly doubled down on his focus toward Anthony Hernandez. Still, many believe ‘Fluffy’s pressure-heavy grappling presents a major stylistic threat to the striking-based Strickland. After all, his back-to-back losses to Du Plessis exposed key flaws in his approach, showing how his stubborn reliance on stand-up fighting can backfire against elite wrestlers. Even though his takedown defense remains solid, the American star continues to divide fans.

Sean Strickland’s possible clash with Anthony Hernandez draws reactions from fans

Since arriving in the UFC, Anthony Hernandez has steadily proven his worth. Despite a slow start, he gradually gained momentum, and the Dunnigan-born fighter now sits at number 4 in the division. Hernandez is riding an impressive eight-fight win streak, defeating opponents such as Roman Dolidze and Brendan Allen. In these bouts, ‘Fluffy’ showcased a powerful ground-and-pound game, demonstrating that his adaptive fighting style could present a real challenge for Sean Strickland. A fan recognized this, commenting, “Finally a Sean fight I’m interested to watch.“

Another fan shared a similar sentiment, saying, “Actually, really curious about how that one goes down!” Sean Strickland, known for his sharp jabs, is equally notorious for his sharp tongue, never missing an opportunity to assert himself verbally against his opponents. Strickland’s approach to wrestling leans away from traditional grappling; he prefers to settle fights on his feet. He once admitted, “Listen, man. Listen, guys. I wrestle every day, sadly. Well, let’s treat this like f–king men; stand in the middle and put one of us to f–ing sleep.”

This mindset has contributed to his losses against top-tier fighters. Fans have weighed in on this, with one commenting, “Very good fight, hope Fluffy gets it done and curious to see if Strickland will change his style.” Another added, “B-ll of steel, that’s not an easy matchup for him, but people have been saying Strickland wrestling is really good, we about to find out if this is true.” Despite Strickland’s tendency to avoid grappling or wrestling, his defensive grappling is solid, though he rarely uses offensive wrestling.

Opponents struggle to take him down, and while Dricus Du Plessis beat him twice, both fights went to decision. In fact, Robert McDaniel remains the only fighter to submit Sean Strickland in the UFC, via rear-naked choke in 2014. Since then, no fighter has submitted to him, which makes fans eager to see how he handles Anthony Hernandez. Still, Strickland’s stubbornness has occasionally put his career at risk, most notably at UFC 312.

During that fight, he disregarded the advice of Alex Pereira and his coach Eric Nicksick, leading Nicksick to publicly call his performance “very underwhelming.” While Sean Strickland is undeniably talented, his stubborn streak has sometimes held him back. Despite that, fans are eagerly anticipating his upcoming matchup with ‘Fluffy’. Some fans have strongly backed Sean Strickland, with one saying, “This fight is an IQ test; if you pick Fluffy, you are a retard.“

Hernandez, on the other hand, has looked strong and has steadily become a fan favorite. ‘Fluffy’ had been scheduled to face Reinier de Ridder at UFC Vancouver last month, but an injury forced him out, which allowed Brendan Allen to step into the spotlight. Now, Sean Strickland has only Anthony Hernandez in his sights. How do you see this bout playing out? Drop your opinion below.