Sean Strickland is gearing up to defend his middleweight title for the first time at UFC 297. It will be an important fight for him since he will be putting his belt on the line against Dricus du Plessis, who’s undefeated in the UFC. However, there are several questions regarding what’s next for Strickland after the fight this weekend. As we inch closer to the first PPV of 2024, let us see what lies ahead for ‘Tarzan’.

Nobody expected Sean Strickland to beat Israel Adesanya the way he did at UFC 293. But now that he’s the champion, things could get a little tough. Nevertheless, there is a possibility that he ends up defeating Dricus du Plessis. As such, let us take a look at Strickland’s potential opponents if he emerges victorious at UFC 297.

Expected opponents for Sean Strickland if he wins at UFC 297

The plans for Sean Strickland post-UFC 297 look clear if he can retain his title. There is a chance that the UFC would like to get back to Israel Adesanya and offer him a rematch against ‘Tarzan’. Given that ‘The Last Stylebender’ has already cemented his status as a legend, it would not come as a surprise if he gets to fight for the title again on his return. If we shift our attention from ‘Izzy’, we will find more potential opponents for Strickland as well.

Khamzat Chimaev recently made his highly anticipated return at UFC 294 against Kamaru Usman. Days before his return, speculations emerged that Dana White was going to give a middleweight title shot to the winner of that fight, which brought ‘Borz’ into discussions for the belt. As such, we could see him challenging Sean Strickland for the title soon. But who will ‘Tarzan’ fight if he loses the championship fight this weekend? Let’s have a look at that front as well.

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Potential opponents for ‘Tarzan’ if he loses to Dricus du Plessis

The plans for Sean Strickland, if he loses at UFC 297, are bleak. However, there is a chance that he gets to fight in a rematch for the title against Dricus du Plessis. However, that will depend on how he loses the fight this weekend. If Strickland gets to the wrong end of a finish, an immediate match could be out of the question, but if he loses via not too one-sided decision, maybe Dana White would consider handing him a title fight rematch.

On the other hand, another possible middleweight contender for Sean Strickland would be Paulo Costa. ‘Borrachinha’ was supposed to fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, but he had to pull out due to a gruesome injury. When he returns, he could find himself fighting Strickland on his way to a title shot, which would be the same route for ‘Tarzan’ as well. But there’s a catch.

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Costa is in talks to fight former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 298 in February. The fight has been verbally agreed to, per Costa, and just needs to be put on paper. The winner of that fight could go on and fight the winner of the UFC 297 main event, while the losers from both fights could be pitted against each other.

There is no official word regarding Sean Strickland’s plans after UFC 297 as of now. He has a big fight coming up and that would be his primary focus at this moment. Nevertheless, the aforementioned fighters could find themselves fighting the ever-vocal middleweight champion soon, depending on how things pan out after this weekend.

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