After refusing to take another fight following his win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302, Sean Strickland is now adamant that he is not fighting in Australia at UFC 312, despite the promotion’s plans.
Following his title loss to Dricus Du Plessis in January, Sean Strickland bounced back with a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 and demanded a rematch against the South African following the win.
Despite that, the formidable Khamzat Chimaev recently picked up the biggest and most impressive win of his career thus far, finishing Robert Whittaker in the first round of their UFC 308 co-main event.
Sean Strickland refuses to fight at UFC in Australia at UFC 312
Although UFC CEO Dana White previously stated that Strickland will be the next fighter to challenge Du Plessis, Chimaev’s recent win seems to have thrown a spanner in the works with things now unclear.
Not only that, but the South African champion himself has admitted that he would ‘100%’ prefer to fight ‘Borz’ next, stating that it is a far more exciting for both him and the fans.
One thing that seemed to be a certainty, is that ‘Stillknocks’ will defend his title in Sydney at UFC 312, with the promotion scheduled to land back down under on February 9.
However, Strickland took to social media this past Thursday, refusing to fight in Australia and offering a new date and location for his possible rematch against Du Plessis.
“I’m not fighting in Australia. We’re thinking Vegas in March,” Strickland said in a tweet on X.
“I have love for the Aussies. BUT I don’t think your government likes me… Which I take as a compliment. Hate speech isn’t real and I’ll always speak up for my kangaroo homies! FREEDOM!” he continued.
Despite Strickland suggesting a new date and location for a fight against Du Plessis, he will have to wait and see what the UFC have decided to do with the middleweight division and see whether refusing to fight will work out for him.
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Dricus Du Plessis believes Sean Strickland should’ve fought again after UFC 302
With Du Plessis openly admitting that he wants to fight Chimaev, his decision may play a part in the UFC’s overall decision.
With that, the champion has stated that Strickland should’ve taken another fight following his win over Costa, as that win wasn’t entirely impressive anyway, and he didn’t take any damage in that fight.
“Yeah, I think if he took another fight and beat a guy like Robert Whittaker then you could definitely make that claim. But then again, you look at Khamzat who never fights but he beat a guy like Rob, but Rob also beat Paulo Costa and he beat (Ikram Aliskerov),” Du Plessis told Submission Radio.
“It’s interesting right now, the middleweight division is a very exciting place to be right now.
“With a guy like Sean Strickland, I’ve seen it all. I know what he can do, I’ve felt the strength, I’ve felt his punches, I’ve felt everything that he has to offer. He’s not suddenly gonna become a striker that is gonna throw crazy flying knees, it’s not gonna happen, he’s not gonna change,” he added.
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