Will we see a rematch between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland? The latter earned a split-decision victory against Paulo Costa at UFC 302 and has been eyeing a title fight against Dricus Du Plessis. But after Khamzat Chimaev’s spectacular fight against Robert Whittaker, many want to see ‘Borz’ clash against DDP. What happens to Strickland’s title aspirations, then?

Well, Dana White had previously confirmed that Strickland was the one next in the title to fight Du Plessis. In fact, rumors were doing rounds on the internet, suggesting he might fight DDP in Australia at UFC 312. These rumors caught more momentum after Strickland teased fans by sharing a fan-made poster for the matchup on his Instagram story, but now, the fighter has decided to clear things up. This could be a new dilemma for Dana White and the matchmakers.

He wrote on X, “I’m not fighting in Australia. Were thinking of Vegas in March. I have a love for the Aussies BUT I don’t think you’re government likes me… Which I take as a compliment!! Hate speech isn’t real and I’ll always speak up for my kangaroo homies!!!!!! FRRRRREEEEEDDDOOOOOMM!”

Well, why does he dislike Australia? A particular incident took place in September last year. He was in Australia to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 and a couple of days before the event, he punched a fan at Bondi for insulting him. “Me having no self-control, just trying to hang out at the beach, I’m gonna hit someone. I just gave him an uppercut to the stomach and walked away,” Strickland stated back then.

But later, he clarified, “It was more in jest. It was fun, he had a giggle about it, I had a giggle about it.” What did Dana White say about the incident?

“He played it up more than whatever and was joking. The fan and him are cool. We have people around him now so he won’t be punching people in the stomach any more,” the UFC CEO had shared in a press conference. Though nothing has been reported to the NSW police, there were other issues at play.

The NSW government ministers condemned his objectionable views about women and liberals. Chris Minns, the premier of South Wales, had stated how objectionable Strickland’s comments were and that it wouldn’t be tolerated. Even the sports minister, Steve Kamper, shared that the government was not endorsing any offensive commentary from any sport or athlete. Back then, ‘Tarzan’ had stated, “Women are the glue to society … women don’t need to work, they need to stay home and raise a family,” which rubbed many the wrong way.

All of this happened at a time when the NSW government was trying to defend its decision to host a UFC fight in their country, despite Sean Strickland’s comments. The opposition wasn’t happy about the government’s decision to spend $16 million with regards to the UFC event.

NSW opposition women’s spokesperson, Leslie Williams, had raised concerns about the UFC in parliament, including Stricklan’s statements. “They owe communities across this state an explanation of how they can justify spending this money when we’re seeing fighters bragging about punching other people,” she questioned. But despite all these reservations against the American fighter, fight fans in Australia rallied to watch him.

Many were surprised to see Strickland garner this kind of support in what was seen as enemy territory. But Robert Whittaker wasn’t surprised. In September 2023, he was on Ariel Helwani’s show, and in a segment, he spoke about Sean Strickland’s antics.

“Sean’s been, I think, very offensive to a lot of people, right? But not to us [in Australia] yet. Maybe we’ve been out of the crosshairs a little bit, so maybe that played a role. But another thing is, like, the fans and the guys that showed up on Sunday [at UFC 293], they like seeing hard fights and they like seeing good fights. Sean went out there and gave his all and had one of the biggest upsets in the middleweight division,” ‘Bobby Knucles’ opined.

But is Sean Strickland slowly losing his charm?

Does Dricus Du Plessis want to skip Sean Strickland?

Before diving into DDP’s take, let’s consider Khamzat Chimaev’s latest dominant performance. The Chechen fighter made a fierce return at UFC 308, forcing Robert Whittaker to tap out due to a face crank. Post this, Whittaker’s jaw was in bad condition and many even speculated that Chimaev might have broken it. Whittaker put all rumors to rest when he finally released a statement that read, “My jaw is good, but my teeth were moved in. It’s a good excuse to fix them properly now.”

But Chimaev’s victory has turned the spotlight on him as a potential title contender, disrupting earlier expectations that Strickland would be next in line for Du Plessis’s middleweight title shot.

Although UFC CEO Dana White initially hinted at Strickland as the likely next challenger, DDP, the reigning 185lbs king now finds Chimaev more intriguing. He can see how big a fight against ‘Borz’ would be. When asked about his preference, Du Plessis expressed interest in facing Chimaev over Strickland, acknowledging that Chimaev presents a tougher challenge.

“I’ve beaten Strickland before, and I know I’ll beat him again. Getting that Khamzat fight, that gets me excited,” he shared last month.

Now fans will have to wait and watch who gets a title opportunity against DDP first. Who do you think deserves it more? Let us know in the comments below.