After shocking the world with his UFC 293 triumph, Sean Strickland is all set to make his octagon return this weekend. In what would be his first title defense, the American is ready to lock horns with rising divisional contender, Dricus Du Plessis, the man ‘Tarzan’ replaced in his last bout.
From the two men brawling during UFC 296 to Strickland’s emotional breakdown, the fight has seen quite a build-up. The recent press conference amplifies the upcoming main event’s hype to a new level. But even before this score is settled, the champion has already found himself on the receiving end of callouts. One of them is coming from a divisional newcomer, Khamzat Chimaev.
Making a return to the middleweight, Chimaev last fought former middleweight champion, Kamaru Usman. But despite the fight being Usman’s debut at the promotion’s 185 lb division, the Chechen couldn’t manage to secure a finish. Something which, according to many, makes the former wrestler unworthy of a title shot, including Strickland. However, for people hoping to see ‘Borz’ vs ‘Tarzan’, it looks like all is not for them.
Sean Strickland Reveals His Conditions for Fighting Khamzat Chimaev
Recently, the current UFC middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, came forward with his conditions for a possible matchup with Khamzat Chimaev. According to the former welterweight, he is not interested in fighting the former Swedish wrestling champion. As per Strickland, he is not interested in the matchup, considering Chimaev is yet to face a ranked 85er.
In his own words: “Chimaev – I mean, rankings fing matter, dude. Like who is – has Chimaev ever fought an 85er? But who is he – I mean he had not fought a ranked 85er then he fought – he took Usman off the couch for a week, like, come on dude, like, stop fing with UFC, go back to being a real fing sporting event, go back to fing rankings.”
However, despite this initial dismissal, the fighter soon unwrapped his conditions for making this proposal a reality. If Strickland is to be believed, he is ready to face ‘Borz’ inside the octagon, given that the fight comes with the ‘right money’. “I don’t give a fk, again, I don’t give a fk who it is, make the stack of money bigger, I’ll fight you, you know?” said Strickland.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
