UFC 293 witnessed the rise of a new champion in the middleweight division, as Sean Strickland shocked the entire world by defeating the middleweight goat, Israel Adesanya. However, it ended when Dricus Du Plessis came in as the potential challenge and defeated him at UFC 297. Their fight was extremely close and ‘Stillknocks’ got the victory by split decision.

The fight was so close that Strickland deserved an immediate rematch, according to the MMA community, but Dana White seems to have other plans. Strickland seems to be in a fiery mood after White’s reluctance to give him a rematch. Let’s see what the former champion had to say.

Sean Strickland is hungry for redemption and believes he deserves one

Dricus Du Plessis clinched the victory against Sean Strickland by way of a split decision. Their fight was everything except one-sided. Both the fighters showcased tremendous fighting intent, and according to several MMA enthusiasts, including prominent UFC figures, ‘Tarzan’ should have won the match. Despite being a brutal match, Dana White seems to be reluctant to give Strickland a chance for a rematch and it seems to have irked the former champion.

Strickland took to X (formerly Twitter) to state that he deserves a rematch, and White should grant him one, just as he did for Israel Adesanya after Adesanya was defeated by Alex Pereira.  He wrote, “You know, I don’t care about fight politics or a belt, but it makes me laugh they give Izzy a rematch to Alex after getting slept. I lost a close decision that Dana himself thought I won. Everyone did. The stats did. That needs to be run back.”

To be precise, Dana White at the UFC 297 post-fight presser stated that he thought Strickland got the victory. White gave 2-2 to Strickland and Du Plessis and for the final round, he thought ‘Tarzan’ got it but he was surprised when he saw Du Plessis win. Nonetheless, Strickland’s chances for the immediate rematch seem to be in the darkness as the UFC administration is looking to give it to Israel Adesanya.

Both Israel Adesanya and Dirucs Du Plessis seem to be ready to fight, however, when will their match commence? Let us find out.

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Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis soon?

Dana White wanted Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis to headline the UFC 300 event, however, the South African’s camp was not ready for the match and Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill had to step in to fill the gap. Adesanya was in a break after the Sean Strickland defeat but seems like he is ready for some action now and Du Plessis seems to have answered when are they going to clash.

In a separate statement to ESPN, Du Plessis said, “I’ll be ready for June [or] July — I guess even [in] May, I’ll be fit and ready to go. I just want to be able to have a proper camp… I would like to fight three times a year. That would be ideal, so June [or] July would be ideal.”

He further added, “Fighting Izzy on home soil would be the ideal. That would be ticking a lot of boxes. He’s one of the best to ever do it in the middleweight division. Of course, bringing the UFC to Africa would be awesome. That would be a victory in itself for MMA and for Africa. Of course, South Africa being my home country, it would be amazing to fight him on home soil.”

The middleweight division seems to be getting busy this year with the return of Adesanya to the Octagon. Who do you would be the next middleweight champion? State your thoughts in the comments below.

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