Sean Strickland put on a very valiant effort against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 but ultimately fell short- by quite a bit. ‘DDP’, after all, virtually dominated the entire fight, and won a comfortable decision even as Strickland refused to give up. Strickland’s warrior spirit was best exemplified in the fourth round, where the champ broke ‘Tarzan’s nose with a solid punch, but the challenger kept on fighting.

In fact, so gruesome was the broken nose that Joe Rogan, on his JRE companion show for UFC 312 was horrified and demanded the fight be stopped after it happened. “He’s gotta stop him. Oh my god, look at his nose- dude, its shattered. Oh my god, its shattered,” Rogan said.

Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling was reminded of the legendary UFC 189 clash between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald, where the latter’s nose was shattered in Strickland-like fashion. But, as Sterling pointed out- MacDonald’s nose was never the same after the fight, which is what the former champ feared may be the case with Strickland.

“Reminiscent of MacDonald vs Lawler. A broken nose, with 5min left to fight can be career-ending. You just can’t take damage the same after that. This last round is gonna be tough. Hail Mary efforts from Sean?” ‘Aljo’ tweeted.

Sterling is correct, it was indeed a Hail Mary effort from Strickland from that moment on. ‘Tarzan’ popped his nose back into place right after it was broken by ‘DDP’ and continued to fight. At one point in the fourth, Strickland got on his bike and, looking like he was done and a stoppage was imminent.

However, the American kept his composure and shape remarkably well, given the circumstances, and eventually made it to the final bell. After the fight, there, if course is one question on everyone’s mind.

What next for Sean Strickland?

Well, the most intriguing and interesting next fight for Strickland would be a rematch with Israel Adesanya. Strickland virtually started ‘Izzy’s recent downfall as he stunned the UFC world by dominating the Yoruba at their UFC 293 clash two years ago. Both men are former champions, in desperate need of a win. Not to mention there are likely to be fireworks in the lead-up to the fight because of both men’s outspoken nature.

The other interesting matchup available to ‘Tarzan’ is a clash against Caio Borralho. ‘The Natural’ is ranked #6 in the division at the moment and needs a win against an elite-level guy to get into title contention. And Strickland may be the perfect next opponent to let him do that.

For Strickland too, a win over the Brazilian up-and-comer would be really beneficial. What better way for ‘Tarzan’ to show he’s still got it than with a win over a young and hungry prospect. In addition, Strickland taking on fellow former champion Robert Whittaker is also a possibility. But that fight probably won’t do as much for Strickland’s standing in the division as it would for the #5 ‘Bobby Knuckles’. What do you think about Joe Rogan and Aljamain Sterling’s take on Sean Strickland’s broken nose?