Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier has backed Sean Strickland’s claim to a title shot, as noise regarding Robert Whittaker getting the next opportunity instead continues to increase.
Even prior to his victory last month, Strickland felt hard done by having been overlooked by the promotion for Dricus Du Plessis’ first title defense this summer. “Tarzan,” of course, lost the middleweight belt to the South African by narrow margins at UFC 297 in Canada this past January.
He then begrudgingly accepted a bout with Paulo Costa, outpointing the former title challenger in a lackluster five-round co-main event at the UFC 302 pay-per-view in Newark. In the immediate aftermath, Strickland laid down his stance by insisting that he’ll only make the walk for a title fight next time out.
But following Whittaker’s emphatic first-round knockout of Ikram Aliskerov in Saudi Arabia, which came months on from his own win over “Borrachinha,” it would appear that Strickland has competition…
Cormier Asks: Why Are People ‘So Quick To Discredit’ Strickland?!
During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Cormier gave his take on the major topics currently appearing in mixed martial arts headlines, including Khamzat Chimaev’s push for a middleweight title shot.
Cormier questioned how Strickland keeps being left out of the discussion over who could fight the winner of Du Plessis vs. Adesanya. Ironically, “DC” initially left Strickland out himself and branded the victor of a potential Chimaev vs. Whittaker fight as next in line.
“Khamzat vs. Robert Whittaker to determine who’s next. You know what, or Sean Strickland,” Cormier said. “I don’t understand how Sean Strickland keeps getting forgotten. He does everything he’s supposed to do. He wins the fights. He was the number one contender. He should not always seem to be put on the backburner.
“He beat Paulo Costa better than Robert Whittaker beat Paulo Costa,” Cormier continued. “Rob goes and has that crazy fight in Saudi Arabia and we immediately start talking about him as the number one contender. What about Sean Strickland? I don’t know why people are so quick to discount this man. We saw it on his rise to the championship, we saw it when he was champion, we saw it when he was coming back. I don’t know why people are so quick to discredit this man.”
Strickland has similarly bemoaned the growing narrative that his status as number one contender isn’t a given, and that he should battle Whittaker in a title eliminator next.
While known for his tendency to say yes to whichever fights the UFC slides across his desk, the former champ has been firm in rejecting a possible clash with “The Reaper,” as well as any other matchup that doesn’t come with the 185-pound belt on the line.
