Sean Strickland’s attempt to become a two-time middleweight champion came up short in his rematch with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312. With the UFC announcing Khamzat Chimaev vs. Du Plessis as the UFC 317 headliner, Strickland could get another shot at the title, especially if Chimaev, a former training partner, wins. For now, though, he doesn’t have a fight lined up.
Sean Strickland Reveals Reason for Fight Snub, Caio Borralho Replies
Like Strickland, fellow middleweight contender Caio Borralho doesn’t have a fight lined up. In a recent interview with Helen Yee, Strickland disclosed that matchmaker Mick Maynard offered him a fight against Borralho, which they mutually turned down due to their friendship.
“It’s one of those weird things where it’s like, I mean, like, I know him. I know his wife. I know his family,” Strickland said. “Like, you know, it’s like at a press conference: ‘Hey, hey Caio, how’s your baby doing? What, she’s turning, or he’s turning two?’ It’s like, you know, it’s just awkward. Like, it’s just like it’s such a bad fight because I know his family, it’s like, it’s not fun.”
Yee clipped the segment on her Instagram post, where Borralho dropped a 6-word comment. “That’s why I love this guy,” Borralho wrote.
Strickland said he’d be open to fighting Borralho if a title were on the line. But for now, with no belt at stake, he’d rather pass. He originally wanted to fight Reinier de Ridder, but the UFC booked de Ridder against Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi.
“The Dutch Knight” called out Strickland after he defeated Bo Nickal, who suffered his first professional MMA loss, at UFC Des Moines. Israel Adesanya had also expressed interest in fighting Strickland, intent on avenging his loss at UFC 293, where Strickland won the title from the “Last Stylebender.”
Strickland doesn’t have much interest in fighting Adesanya, but admitted he’d be willing to fight if the UFC offered it to him. Interestingly, the 34-year-old dropped a surprise name he wanted to fight.
“I mean, Belal, that’d be a fun fight. That’d be a fun one,” Strickland said. ” Belal, you a f***ing sonny, sack up, dog. This is it. You can finally sack the f*** up, dude. All that s*** you talk, man, we can finally make it happen. Lost your belt, you know, you kind of got f***ed up, I got f***ed up, like, we should make that fight happen.”
Belal Muhammed, who recently lost the welterweight title to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315, had engaged in a war of words with Strickland on social media due to their differing socio-political beliefs.
Muhammad once claimed he would move up to middleweight to fight Strickland, and now “Tarzan” challenged “Remember the Name.” Even though he has fought at welterweight in the UFC, Strickland has no plans to do so again.