Sean Strickland has warned Islam Makhachev that he may want to think twice about a potential move up in weight.
The lightweight champion has now broken the record for most UFC title defences at 155lb, but isn’t keen to challenge former training partner Belal Muhammad for the welterweight belt. Instead, he wants to bulk up to 185lb and challenge the winner of Strickland’s fight with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312.
However, Strickland isn’t so sure about that idea and believes that Makhachev should stay around his weight class instead of moving up.
- Who is Sean Strickland? Get to know the controversial former UFC Middleweight champion
Sean Strickland hits back at Islam Makhachev’s attempted move to middleweight
Sean Strickland is the current top contender for middleweight gold, after losing the belt to Dricus Du Plessis in January of last year. He had to go through a hellacious list of contenders in his run to the belt in 2023, and is now getting another shot.
And he believes that Islam Makhachev will struggle up at the weight given that he is a considerably smaller individual. The lightweight champion finds it tough to make the 155lb limit, but is believed to walk around at about 180lb, which would be light for middleweight.
“You’re a little man, bro,” Strickland told Helen Yee in a recent interview. “You ain’t going to wrestle me, dog, you’re this f***ing big, dog [points to his hip]. It ain’t going to happen. Go back to f***ing, I dont know, where is he from? Dagestan. Go back to Durkistan, bro, calm down.”
Dricus Du Plessis gives his take on Islam Makhachev ahead of UFC 312
While their opinions are similar in terms of how they feel about Makhachev’s prospects at the weight, Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland had different ways of presenting their views. The South African noted that it would be a money fight, but cast doubt on how competitive it might be.
“If there was ever a situation where there’s no fight for me, no fight for him that makes sense, I’d be more than happy to do it, easy payday,” the middleweight champion told Main Event, after admitting that he may be pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world.
“If we get to a situation where we are not, he’s an incredible fighter make no mistake,” Du Plessis stated earlier in the interview. “He was so incredibly good against Moicano he once again proved why he is pound for pound best in the world.
“I don’t care how good you are (he’s 30lbs lighter), he obviously trains with 185ers in his gym, he doesn’t train against me, believe me, it’s not the same thing. Even on a technical level like stand-up, that’s just, you know, his wrestling and grappling is phenomenal.
“I’m just overpowered that’s what I think. It makes a massive difference, he’s a big lightweight but I’m a big middleweight, there’s a big difference between a big lightweight and a big middleweight.”
- Who is Dricus Du Plessis? Meet the UFC brawler putting South Africa on the MMA map