It didn’t take long after the fourth-round rear naked choke was locked in for Sean Strickland to share his take on the middleweight title picture; with a highly anticipated rematch with DDP now looming on the horizon.
Whilst Dricus Du Plessis would prefer to face the winner of Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev, the South African champion knows that the UFC is likely to move in another direction; one that sees former king ‘Tarzan’ swinging back into title action.
Sean Strickland reacts to Dricus Du Plessis beating Israel Adesanya at UFC 305
Heading into UFC 305 in Perth, Dana White had stated that no matter who walked out of the RAC Arena with the middleweight title, the winner would go on to face former champion Sean Strickland in their next bout.
Well, after DDP was able to secure a fourth-round rear naked choke over Israel Adesanya, it didn’t take long for Strickland himself to respond online, simply writing on X: “Time for war Dutch man…”
Replying to a question on when and where he expects that title rematch to take place, Strickland later stated that the middleweight belt will be put up for grabs next in either Las Vegas or South Africa.
“Vegas man.. I always travel. Let me fight in my country.. unless you want me to go fix south Africa. We can go to Africa and fight infront of a bunch of white people lmao.”
Prior to the title clash with Adesanya, Dana White had indeed shared that the UFC would be looking to hold an event in South Africa in 2025, which would be the promotion’s first event on the African continent.
At the post-fight press conference, ‘Stillknocks’ noted that whilst he still believes that Australia’s own Robert Whittaker deserves the next title shot, he’s looking forward to putting a more definitive stamp on his rivalry with Strickland following their razor-close contest earlier this year.
“Going into that Strickland fight now I know, I’ve been in there with him, and he can’t handle what I have… He can’t handle what I have to offer so this time I can finish him.
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“Yeah, he beat Izzy, but now we have a comparison – that’s how you finish someone.”
Dricus Du Plessis reacts to post-fight callout from Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira
Yet Strickland wasn’t the only former middleweight champion calling out Dricus Du Plessis after his title win in Australia, with current light heavyweight king Alex Pereira also throwing his name into the hat.
‘Poatan’ took to Instagram to suggest that despite having his next title fight at 205lbs just being announced, he’s open to moving back down to middleweight in the hope of reclaiming his old belt.
“I’m going down to 84kg again, Coming down to 185 one more time.”
When asked about the possibility of a ‘Poatan’ vs ‘Stillknocks’ middleweight title fight at the UFC 305 press conference, DDP had an ominous warning for the Brazilian superstar.
“I honestly don’t think that Alex Pereira should drop down to 185, if he wants to then great, perfect – but then we’re going to hear the excuses.
“We saw Izzy stiff that man in the first round, I’ve felt Izzy’s punching power tonight and if Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be in there with me.”
With the win in Perth, Dricus Du Plessis moves to 22-2 as a professional and extends his winning streak to 10.